


Glass Rocks

by chapa3



Category: Black Lagoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 05:33:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 99,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3369680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapa3/pseuds/chapa3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to 'The Calabrian Gambit'. Rock and Revy deal with the aftermath of the prior week. Meanwhile, Black Lagoon is commissioned for a job as a new organization attempts to fill the power vacuum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Newton's First Law of Motion

"Pick whichever one you're comfortable with, just nothing custom and nothing too fucking expensive," Revy emotionlessly says inside Praiyachat gun shop. Rock surveys the glass displays and walls racks of pistols, shotgun, rifles, and machine guns. Wearing a new pair of dress pants and shoes, identical to his old ones, as well as a new dress shirt, a black and white plaid patterned dress shirt, Rock peers toward the firing range in the back room. "I'll leave you with Praiyachat, got business to take care of with 'you know who'," Revy annoyingly speaks, before turning to Praiyachat when out of Rock's earshot. She whispers into the old man's ear "Pick out the kind of guns a bodyguard would use, not the type of guns a 'gunman' would use." The short Thai man raises his eyebrows and asks "What, 'black and white collar' over there has to protect someone? Who's he protecting?" Revy twitches in annoyance and snarls "Just get him the fucking guns! I am paying you for your fucking sage-like wisdom, not your curiosity. Alright? Just do what I asked." Praiyachat waves Revy off and curses under his breath "Asshole."

Revy opens the door to their Town Car and sits in the driver seat. She rests her head on the wheel, remembering back to last week's chaotic events cumulating with Rock blowing Luca's brains out. As far as she is concerned, the ordeal with the 'Ndrangheta is over. All that remains is to settle one simple score. To push one simple point across.

It's almost sunset in Roanapur. The sky reflects this fact with its orange hue and scattered light peering through islands of clouds. The street Revy is parked on is bustling with life as people rush to make their purchases before closing time. A ragged, shirtless, toothless man limbs toward Revy's Town Car. The man, bald and bearded, holds a soup can in his emaciated fingers. "Xin lỗi cho hỏi? (excuse me)" the man asks in Vietnamese. Revy quickly starts the car. "Tôi rất đói (I am very hungry)" he says, as Revy quickly accelerates away from the beggar, who simply looks for someone else to leech off of.

Parking the car in front of the Yellow Flag, Revy steps out and surveys her surroundings. After failing to spot any large vans or posses out for blood, she turns toward the front entrance of the Yellow Flag. She could hear the loud music emulating from the bar, as well as, to her annoyance, the screeching singing of a drunken British tourist. She deems the patrons of the bar to be too busy playing poker or too drunk to notice her heading inside. A careful push of the door at the entrance and she steps inside. Once inside, Revy quickly zeros in on her prey, a blonde woman in sunglasses sitting by the counter, drinking tequila straight from the bottle. She slowly walks toward Eda, careful as to not alert her. Bao, the Vietnamese bartender, washes beer pitchers with his back turned to Eda and Revy, not aware of the carnage that is about to ensue. Revy herself gets within two feet behind Eda when Bao begins to turn around. Eda senses someone behind her and turns around to find Revy smiling like a 1st grader that just blew on a dandelion.

"EDA!" Revy still smiles as she grabs her by both of her shoulders. Revy still smiles as she drives Eda into the metallic bar counter head first.

"Not this shit again," Bao curses as Eda falls off her stool and lands on her ass. Eda quickly reaches for the pistol in her shoulder strap when Revy kicks Eda right in her neck, causing Eda to accidentally discharge the pistol into the wooden floor and drop it on the ground. The sound of gunfire alerts everyone as 75% of the bar draws their weapons and the other 25% ducks under the tables. And the British tourist did not duck under the table. Suddenly, a large shotgun points its barrel at Revy's head.

"NO! FUCKING GOD NO! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DESTROY THIS BAR AGAIN, TWO-HANDS! I AM PAYING THROUGH MY DICK HOLE IN INSURANCE RATES, ALRIGHT?" Bao seethes, grinding his teeth. Revy simply rolls her eyes, reaches down for Eda's pistol, and responds "Fine. We'll take our business outside. Here, to help cover what we owe you. Pawn this." Revy tosses Eda's pistol over Bao's head and into the liquor rack, shattering a couple of bottles of whiskey. Bao grinds his teeth again and motions with his shotgun "Just get the fuck out of here! NOW!" Revy obliges by grabbing Eda by her elongated hair and dragging her out into a driveway.

"YOU FUCKING CUNT!" Revy yells as she tosses Eda face first into a brick wall. She turns Eda around and prepares to pummel her through the wall when Eda grabs Revy's right fist. Revy simply drives her left fist into Eda's stomach, sending Eda sliding to the ground. Whether intoxicated, caught off her guard, or both, Eda struggles to defend herself. "YOU SOLD MY SECRETS TO A FUCKING LUNATIC, EH?" Revy yells as she drives her right knee into Eda's nose, breaking both her nose and her sunglasses, which fall to the ground in two pieces. Eda simply laughs "Sister, you telling me that you wouldn't sell me out for a few million? Haha, what a fucking hypo…" Eda fails to finish as Revy grabs Eda by her throat and pulls her up. After choking Eda for a few seconds, Revy drives her knee into Eda's crotch, and then lets go of her grip, letting Eda crumble to her knees. Revy follows up by pushing Eda to the ground with her right leg, stomping on Eda's back once, twice, six times, which is then followed by a kick to her head.

Revy reaches for one of her Cutlasses when she notices a large crowd watching in amusement. Two dozen of the patrons funneled out to watch a cat fight to end all cat fights. Money is exchanged as the spectators make prop bets ranging from whether Revy is going to kill Eda to whether clothes will be torn off. "Re…Revy, I don't think it will be a good idea to clip me in front of so many witnesses…" Eda smirks in between the throbbing in her head and the agony cruising through her nerves. "I made a shit load of money, got what I deserved, Luca is dead, who might I add, might still be alive had I not sold him the information…" Eda negotiates through the pain as Revy unholsters the Cutlass she was reaching for "and you saved Romeo, him all safe and sound." Eda suddenly realizes that she chose her words very poorly as Revy slowly boils to a breaking point. Eda turns on her back and pleads "Revy, if you kill me, my sponsors will hunt you and Rock down!" Revy simply glares venomously at Eda, at her broken, bloody noise.

*BANG!*

"My leg, my fucking leg!" Eda cries out as she holds onto her left kneecap, the kneecap that Revy left a bullet inside. Revy finishes with a pair of sharp kicks into Eda's ribs, followed by spitting at her. She leaves Eda, beaten and bleeding, and is welcomed with applause from a thoroughly amused crowd. Money exchanges hands as the British tourist yells out "That was thoroughly righteous, you tore that slag a second cunt!" Revy pushes the British tourist away and responds "You're shit at karaoke." The crowd breaks out into laughter as Revy walks toward her car, feeling accomplished. Stepping inside the car and turning on the ignition, Revy sighs and begins the drive back to Praiyachat's gun shop.

"Rock, you got what you wanted?" Revy yells out as Rock walks out of the gun store. "What you got?" Revy asks out of curiosity. Rock hops inside the front passenger seat, wearing a large shoulder strap on top of his dress shirt. Revy peers forward to notice the gun hanging from the holster. "Is that…is that an Uzi?" Revy asks. Rock answers "Yeah, it is light, the recoil is surprisingly low, and Praiyachat said that you and I use the same ammunition, which is also why I got this…" Rock reaches behind and under his dress shirt to pull out a second gun that was tucked inside the belt of his dress pants. "That's an M9, U.S. Army version of the Beretta 92. Are those guns new or already been used?" Revy asks. "Praiyachat said the Uzi came from an Israeli soldier that was killed in Syria during the Yom Kippur War. He said the Uzi burns through ammunition very quickly, which is why he recommended a secondary weapon as a backup. Showed me this M9, said it came from an American that pawned it to him. Praiyachat said that the serial number was wiped out, thinks the person who pawned it was some American gangster trying to get rid of evidence. Works fine though, and I feel comfortable with it. I paid Praiyachat in cash, just like you said, still have a few hundred in bills left over." Revy watches Rock holster his M9 back to its original location. As Rock conceals his gun, he adds "Want to get something to eat? I'll pay." Revy arches her head back, in thought, and responds with "I could go for a slice…alright, pizza works." A stomp on the gas pedal and the Town Car heads onward, leaving Praiyachat's gun shop in the dust.

"Halfway across the world from NYC and still every fucking pizza I get is served by anyone but an Italian," Revy comments as they get back inside their car. Both of them carry a white, paper bag containing a pepperoni slice inside, the oil from the slice staining the bags. Shutting the car door behind him, Rock comments "Back in Japan, I could sometimes find a slice of pizza served in a vending machine." Revy nearly chokes on her first bite of the pizza, awkwardly swallowing the piece. "That's fucking disgusting!" Revy yells "Is that even sanitary?" Rock chuckles and responds "Hell if I know, never bought one".

As the two of them eat their slices, Revy asks "So, you gonna ask about what I did to Eda?" Rock struggles to push out a piece of pepperoni stuck in his teeth "I assumed that she's dead and Bao is currently collecting insurance money, again". Revy smirks and replies "Heh, neither. Gave her a damn good beating, and was about to end the bitch when she said that 'her sponsors' will hunt us down. Now I have no idea who she means by sponsors, but between her resources in getting us into Laos and the way she was keeping tabs on us…well, it makes me think that she's some fucking government agent. I don't know, CIA, DEA, maybe she's not even government and just working for private interests, but I have no desire to kick a cave bear in the balls. She's not going to be walking for a while, but she's alive, and no longer our problem." Rock takes his first bite into the crust and responds "I had a feeling she had U.S. government connections. I met Eda while trying to find a way to get that insane maid into Laos for those American soldiers. I was about yell that she is working for the U.S. government when she warned me 'not to look for leviathans in the sea' or something like that. That meeting was part of the reason why I guessed Eda to be Luca's information broker. I highly doubt she was ordered to give Luca information, she clearly has gone rogue and is simply here to make money." Revy nods once and says "True, either way, she doesn't matter anymore".

Revy finishes her slice and crumbles the paper bag it came with, tossing the bag out the window. As she tosses the bag out, she notices a large corner market being renovated. "That used to be that 'Whole Foods' mart that Balalaika set on fire. Looks like that property has already been sold," Revy peers at the red and silver sign above the store. "Takahashi Bakery and Confectionary...freaking strange. Last time I checked, there wasn't any Yakuza in Roanapur," Revy speaks out. "Maybe it is an honest business," Rock suggests, which causes Revy to burst out laughing. "Honest business? Roanapur? Property sold by Hotel Moscow? Rocky baby, for once, you made a good fucking joke!"

Revy settles down her laughter and watches Rock toss his paper bag out of the window. She stares into Rock's gun holster and says "I'd rather not tell Dutch that you're now carrying. It might freak him out. I'll tell him that I decided to get a spare holster and wanted to add another Uzi to the collection. You can keep your pistol concealed, as long as Dutch doesn't see." Rock slowly nods and removes his gun holster, placing it in the back seat of the car. "I understand your point, Revy," Rock responds.

"Alright, as long as we got that straightened out," Revy sighs, looking around the street. She squints her eyes to see a man slowly limp toward the car. A shirtless, bearded, Asian looking man, holding a soup can with his fingers. "Fucking Christ, not this hobo again!" Revy curses as she rolls her eyes and turns on the engine of the car. "I say we give Benny a visit. Plus I forgot to buy something to drink. Knowing Benny, he'd never let that fridge go empty," Revy says as the two drive off toward the Lagoon Company office.

"Revy, Rock! Bout damned time, I called your motel room a dozen times already!" Dutch complains, holding a can of Heineken in his right. "What's that? You went shopping?" Dutch asks. "Yeah, got myself a spare holster and another submachine gun to our arsenal, what's with the fucking rush, Dutch?" Revy asks, confused.

Dutch takes a sip of his beer and answers "We got a nice job coming our way. Long distance but the pay is decent, and the guy on the phone sounded legit. We are escorting a boat into Roanapur, bringing in some guy from Hawaii. The guy is paying us 3,000 in U.S. bills for the job, plus the cost for fuel."

"Hawaii? Dutch, you know sure as shit that I'm still wanted in the States," Revy proclaims, mildly uncomfortable. "Nah, none of us are even stepping foot on the soil. The client promised to meet us at sea several nautical miles west of the main island. We probably won't even need to worry about the Coast Guard."

Revy nods in approval and walks toward the fridge. She fishes out a can of beer and opens it. A rush of foam flows out of the can and on her hands. Annoyed, Revy yells out "Benny! Do you have fucking Parkinson's or something? This is the fifth fucking time already!"

Rock watches Revy shout a few more obscenities at Benny, who is seated in a separate room. Rock turns to Dutch and, out of curiosity, asks "Dutch, who did the client say he is?" Dutch finishes his beer and crushes it in his hands "Oh yeah, I forgot to say," Dutch speaks in a louder volume, loud enough for Revy to hear "The client's name is Raymond Takahashi." "Well that explains the new bakery and candy shop being set up," Revy blurts out "Sounds like someone from the outside is trying to fill in the power vacuum."

"I don't give a shit what he does as long as he is not trying to screw us out of money," Dutch yells out, mildly annoyed "And since it's good money, I don't want to keep Mr. Takahashi waiting, understand?" Dutch turns toward Rock and asks "You coming?" Rock gives a perplexed look and answers "Of course I'm coming." Dutch fishes for a cigarette and replies "Good, 'cause I wasn't taking no for an answer. We are making a stop at Guam for gas, and then heading straight to meet with our client." Dutch turns around to face Revy "And Revy? Don't worry about living off spam, I bought us enough reheatable pizza to fill a vending machine."


	2. Strange Roads, Strange Places

The cool Pacific breeze tickles the idle torpedo boat. In the distance horizon, a faint blob of light emulates from the Hawaiian locale of Kailua Kona, amidst the shroud of darkness. On the deck of the Lagoon, Revy nervously watches her surroundings, tapping her feet, cigarette in her mouth. "Relax Revy, I am sure that if the Coast Guard does get close enough, Benny will warn Dutch," Rock speaks out, taking a drag on his own cigarette. Revy rests her back on the railing, her shoulders supported by the top rail "Easy for you to say, grey collar. Want to park the boat right outside of Okinawa?" Revy annoyingly replies. "In either scenario, we'll all get jailed anyway," Rock responds, knocking ash off his cigarette and into the calm Pacific waves. "True, true," Revy speaks back, calming herself down. A wave collides with the Lagoon, sending a slight drizzle of salt water onto the both of them.

"Ever been to Hawaii?" Revy curiously asks, taking a drag on her cigarette. Rock mimics Revy and rests his back on the railing just as she does. "I wouldn't mind, but no, I can't say I have. My superiors sent me to Colombia, Brazil, Thailand, but never the States," Rock answers as the two grow silent. After a short pause, Rock asks a question of his own "Was it here in Hawaii that you met Dutch?" Revy smirks and answers "Heh, not too far off. Try Tijuana." "Mexico?" Rock asks, surprised "What were you doing in Mexico?" "Besides running from the police?" Revy sarcastically asks. Rock nods once and answers "Point taken."

Revy recalls to the years that past and speaks out "You just reminded me of how I met Dutch. We were in some bar on Coahuila Street, late at night. That's in Tijuana's red light district. Dutch was combing the city for some hired help, wanted to add a gunner for the Lagoon," Revy pauses, smirking. "I noticed him paying for his drinks in cash and thought his wallet would make a nice score. I tailed him out of the bar and followed him for a few streets. I swear to fucking Christ, he spotted me at least once and must have thought I was some hooker trying to make a few bucks. I was thinking of some clever way to swipe his wallet when two of these muggers were tailing him as well, not noticing me. Of course, Dutch had to do something stupid, so he turned into an alleyway in the middle of the night, in fucking Tijuana no less. The two dickheads pulled out a pair of machetes that I fucking swear were the size of Dutch's arms. I followed them into the alleyway, pulled out my Smith & Wesson Model 586 revolver, the gun I carried back then, and fired two shots each into their backs, rapid fire. Both of them were dead before they knew what hit them. When I pointed my gun at Dutch, demanding his wallet, he drew a Smith & Wesson Model 629, the one he still uses, and said ' _Six of my bullets to only two of yours, I'll_   _take my chances, motherfucker!'_  We were at a fucking standoff for what felt like an eternity when he then said  _'You want a job?'_  And here I am now," Revy concludes her tale.

Rock soaks in the impressive tale that Revy just divulged and asks "When was this?" Revy looks upward, thinking to herself for a few seconds, and answers "1991, around February. Late February, because I remember watching in the news that Saddam Hussein pulled his soldiers out of Kuwait that day."

Rock nods and finishes his cigarette, flicking the butt of the cigarette into the Pacific Ocean. Revy finishes hers as well and follows suit. The two head toward the interior of the boat when Revy suddenly hears the sound of a ship in the distance. She quickly draws her two Cutlasses and runs toward the railing, pointing her guns at the source of the sound. "Cool it Revy, it's Takahashi's boat," Dutch echoes, stepping onto the deck "That ain't a proper way to welcome a client". Revy gives a quick stare at Dutch and holsters her pistols. "Benny caught his boat on the radar?" Revy asks, to which Dutch silently nods.

A large, white ferry boat approaches the Lagoon, the ferry at least three times the size of the Lagoon. "Well, unless the Hawaiian Coast Guard moonlights in the ferry business, I'd say that is what we are escorting," Dutch comments, stretching his back. "It looks like a goddamn fishing boat on steroids," Revy comments, amused "I'd say you could fit a hundred people in there." Rock stares as the ferry approaches closer, spotting, in black lettering on the port side,  _'Garasu no ō'._  Rock reads the name a second time and speaks out "Garasu no ō, the Glass King. Strange name for a boat." The ferry stops right next to the Lagoon, bustling with activity as various people shuffle through the decks. Within the darkness, a few men with rifles, their weapons shrouded by the darkness, stand on the upper deck as a man climbs over a railing on the lower deck and jumps onto the Lagoon. Dutch steps forward to greet the man as Rock and Revy walk with Dutch to get a better look.

"You Raymond Takahashi?" Dutch asks, extending his hand. Standing next to Dutch, the man appears to be half a head shorter then Dutch, his forehead at level with the tip of Dutch's nose. The man, sporting black, short, combed over hair, large, thick framed glasses, thick eyebrows, and a rounded chin, wears a dark beige, patternless dress shirt with a black tie, brown slacks that lack a belt, and worn, black, leather shoes. The dress shirt is tucked inside the man's slacks. The man calmly smiles and extends both of his hands, grabbing Dutch's hand with his right and cupping their hands with his left, shaking them. "Yes, my name is indeed Raymond Takahashi. You must be the man I spoke with on the phone. Dutch it is, correct?" Dutch nods as Raymond Takahashi surveys the ship. "I see some mounted weapon on top of the boat, but where are the other defenses? Mounted machine guns, flamethrowers?" Mr. Takahashi says, in a slightly accented, high pitched voice. Revy buts in "We have a loaded armory and we are the best goddamn gunmen money could buy. All we have outside of that is our Gepard M3 anti-material rifle up on top. Nothing else needed. Besides, why didn't you get some mounted weapons for your own boat if you're that nervous?" Dutch whispers under his breath "Shut up, Two-Hands," as Mr. Takahashi answers, annoyed "I hired you because purchasing mounted machine guns on a ferry would normally alert the United States authorities, especially the ATF, and because my boat is carrying highly fragile equipment and cannot engage in a firefight. It was my expectation that you will be able to deter any form of aggression against my boat. Currently, my perceived expectations are not being met. Before we proceed, I demand that it shall be known that any damage to my equipment will result in a deduction to your pay!"

As Revy prepares to protest, Dutch holds his hand up, shutting Revy up, and responds "Of course, but I assure you that it will not be an issue." Rock stares at Mr. Takahashi curiously, to which Mr. Takahashi annoyingly asks "May I help you in any shape or form?" Rock answers "You look like Toshiro Mifune in ' _The Bad Sleep Well_ ', that Akira Kurosawa film". Mr. Takahashi chuckles and responds "Ha, yes, you are certainly not the first to say that. Are you Japanese?" Rock answers "Hai, watashi wa Tokyo de umaremashita (Yes, I was born in Tokyo)". Mr. Takahashi raises his left eyebrow, pauses for a minute, and answers "My Japanese is not so good. I am Hawaiian, Honolulu born and raised. My English is much better."

A thought suddenly hits Rock, prompting him to ask "Are you with the Yakuza?" Mr. Takahashi shakes his head and answers "No, I am a businessman, nothing more. I was given this opportunity through a network of connections originating from one Bai Ji-Shin Chang, who has loaned me money at a low interest rate in assistance with purchasing property in Roanapur. Furthermore, I discovered an unfulfilled niche that, if filled, will net me and my organization considerable returns." Curious, Revy herself asks a question "What business are you talking about?" Mr. Takahashi turns to Revy and asks "Does the word skanté sound familiar?" Rock and Revy stare at Takahashi, perplexed, and shake their heads. "What about ice?" Takahashi asks. Revy blurts out "Diamonds?" Takahashi shakes his head and asks "Glass? Shabu?" Rock and Revy yell out at the same time "Crystal meth?" Takahashi answers "Ahh, I see. I'll market my product as both 'Glass' and 'Shabu'. I thought only the Japanese called it Shabu. It is quite surprisingly actually, that none of the other organizations have made a sustained and organized effort to bring methamphetamines into Roanapur. A narcotic that, from my research, is extremely popular throughout all of Thailand. We ourselves are facing a fine business opportunity, and if this smuggling operations goes as planned, then my organization will generate consistent and considerable profits." Takahashi follows up by saying "My apologizes, but I have not asked you for your names." "Names Revy, his name is Rock," Revy answers, pointing at Rock with her head.

Takahashi steps toward Rock and surveys him. "I think I saw you on the news. Yes, you're Rokuro Okajima, the man that killed the Kousa Council. Ha, if a few of my distant relatives would ever see you, they'll want to buy you a drink." Rock blankly stares at Takahashi, not saying another word. Takahashi turns to Dutch and says "I split up my operation onto two ships. The 2nd ship is waiting for us in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. I felt this would be an ideal way to reduce the risk, so that at least half my operation would get inside Roanapur. Furthermore, my partner on that ship is currently engaged in receiving a vital ingredient for our methamphetamine operation. We will make a detour from Guam to Port Moresby. I'll cover the cost of gas, as promised."

Dutch eyes his client in annoyance. After remembering that his client is his client, nods and responds "Of course, Mr. Takahashi. We will set to Port Moresby after Guam." Takahashi nods in approval of Dutch's answer, bids farewell, and walks toward his own ship. A slightly chubby Hawaiian man with a goatee and long, black hair, wearing a blue and red Hawaiian shirt, steps forward and extends his arm downward. Takahashi grabs the Hawaiian man's arm as the henchman pulls Takahashi onto the 'Glass King'. "Mahalo nui loa (Thank you very much)" Takahashi says in Hawaiian to the henchman, patting him on the back.

Dutch, Rock, and Revy turn toward the interior of the Lagoon. While entering the Lagoon, Dutch turns to Revy and bellows "Two-Hands, you should seriously stop talking back to clients, especially when your boss is already speaking!" Revy simply responds with a "Hn!" and rolls her eyes, heading to her cabin, as Dutch and Rock turn to their own. Rock stands in front of his cabin, waiting for the sound of Dutch slamming his cabin door shut. A sound of metal slamming on more metal and Rock turns around toward a cabin door right across from him, Revy's cabin. He walks toward the cabin, opens the door, and steps inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Slept well, Rock?" Dutch asks, chewing on buttered toast. Crumbs fall from his mouth onto a white plate. Rock stretches his back, adjusting to the morning scent of coffee and breakfast being made. "Oh, by the way, thanks for chatting up Takahashi last night, making him comfortable. I was getting a bit nervous that he was going to cancel the job," Dutch adds. Rock simply shrugs his shoulders and heads for the bathroom, intending to brush his teeth. In a small room set aside for a kitchen, Benny fiddles around with a skillet, making himself pancakes. Empty measuring cups and a broken egg shell lie next to the skillet. The freshly made pancake batter turns into his breakfast as he spots Revy drowsily stepping inside the main room of the Lagoon. "Wh…what's for breakfast," she mumbles out. Benny yells out "Makin' myself some old fashioned pancakes, got enough ingredients to whip up a few more if you want." Revy nods and responds "Two of them will be fucking perfect, thanks Benny". "Make it four!" Rock yells out from the bathroom. Benny acknowledges the responses and says "You got it, just let me finish these two beauties and have my breakfast, lord knows I'm fucking starving."

The entrance to the bathroom creeks open as Rock exits it, refreshed. He brushes shoulders with Revy, who is heading toward the bathroom herself. Revy responds with a smirk as she enters the bathroom. Rock himself watches Benny exit the kitchen with a plate, the plate holding a pair of pancakes glazed in syrup. He places the plate on the coffee table in the main room and fishes out a knife and a fork from his pockets. Rock watches Benny consume the first pancake when he decides to step into the kitchen and make himself coffee. As he pours himself some coffee from a glass jug, Rock speaks out "I can save you some time and prepare the batter myself." Between his chewing, Benny quickly calculates the numbers in his head and responds "I use a third of a cup of batter for each pancake, so just make a full cup of it. Just follow the paper that I placed next to the milk." Rock pours a little milk into his own coffee and stirs it, taking a few sips from it. He turns to a piece of scrap paper with a recipe and set of instructions written on it. He retrieves a clean ceramic bowl and dumps half of the ingredients into the bowl one by one, mashes a hole in the center of the mixture, and then pours in some milk, a raw egg, and a little butter. As Rock stirs the mixture in the bowl, Benny finishes his breakfast and wipes his mouth. He carries his plate and dirty utensils into the kitchen, leaving them on the counter, and stares into Rock's concoction.

"Looks okay, just need to stir it for a bit more…and…that's enough. Thanks," Benny proclaims, subtly pushing Rock out of the kitchen as Revy exits the bathroom. She takes a seat by the coffee table and proclaims "Nice to have a radio operator that could actually cook or do something else. Last radio operator we had was only good for getting shitfaced and passing out." Dutch looks up from his state of deep thought.

Sitting down next to Revy, his coffee on the table, Rock raises his left eyebrow and asks, addressing both Revy and Dutch "Who was the radio operator before Benny joined?" Dutch answers the question "Let me start with some back-story. When I started Black Lagoon Company, I relied mostly on temporary muscle and temporary help, would hire someone as a gunner or a radio assistant or a translator, do a job, then they would collect their pay and I would usually never see them again. As you can imagine, this made it difficult to respond to jobs on the fly, as I would constantly have to hire help after each job request, which limited both the range of my work and my ability to fulfill quick orders from clients. Eventually I started looking for permanent work, hired a gunner from Phuket named Ting. Skinny guy, worked for cheap. Good with electronics but had no fucking business using a gun. He didn't last long, got shot by Filipino pirates during an ambush. Shortly after that, I got a transport job for one of those Mexican Cartels to move a large package from Jakarta, Indonesia. Don't remember what the package was, I think it was meth. When I had it delivered in Colima, Mexico, I used my free time to find a more reliable and permanent crew. Found a radio operator in Colima, her name was Gabriela Barajas. Loud mouthed and a drunkard but she knew how to handle a radio and a boat's radar, and that was good enough for me. From there I went up to Tijuana, and that's where I found Revy." Dutch pauses, preparing to continue his story, when Revy blurts out "Yeah, Dutch, I already told Rock about how we met up."

Rock nods at this new reveal of information, and then speaks out "You didn't say what happened to Barajas." Dutch stretches his neck and answers "I was getting to that. About a year and a half after I assembled a permanent crew, Barajas one day got so drunk that she fell over the railing and drowned. She was so drunk that she just sank to the bottom of the ocean. Couldn't save her because I left the boat running on its own, and by the time I could turn it around, it was too late."

"Who worked the radios with Barajas gone?" Rock asks, to which Dutch nods his head toward Revy, who suddenly swells in rage. "It was fucking disaster, twice she almost ran us aground on a reef," Dutch adds, shaking his head, which now completely pisses Revy off.

"What do you fucking expect when you make the shit-for-brains idea of having someone work radar or sonar or whatever the fuck that is, without them knowing how to fucking use it?" Revy sounds off. Dutch responds, annoyed, pausing between words "I did not think it would have been so goddamn difficult!" Dutch shakes his head and continues "Anyway, that's how it was set up until we rescued Benny from becoming lunch for the sharks, but that's another story."

Benny leaves the kitchen and heads into the main room, placing Rock's and Revy's breakfast on the table. He makes another trip for the utensils and props them on the table. "Thanks," Rock and Revy say in unison. Rock and Revy dig into their breakfast as Benny steps inside the kitchen to retrieve a can of Heineken beer. "Darn crazy, when I think about it. This March, it will be five years since I started working for Black Lagoon. Just amazed at how I got here," Benny blurts out, opening the can. He takes a sip of the cold beer, the liquid pricking at his tongue. "Not complaining Dutch, just being nostalgic," Benny adds, smiling to himself.

"How did you end up here, Benny?" Rock asks, taking advantage of this rare moment where all four of them feel willing to swap stories. Benny adjusts his glasses and takes another sip from his beer "I got here by being extremely stupid and lucky. I was a sophomore in Florida State University, out in Tallahassee, working on an engineering degree. While in college, one of my friends from high school told me about how he and his family are being forced into hiding. These two guys from the Lazzaro Syndicate, that's the Tampa Mafia, were extorting my friend's father's rubber business and threatening to kill his father, at least that's what he said. Now I am good with computers, and so I hatched an idea. I researched and mined my way into getting everything I could on the two mobsters, Tony Ragano and Phil Mazza. The two of them were a pair of associates trying to steal some money, they didn't have any real mafia status. So then I pulled the retarded stunt that led me onto this boat…" Benny pauses, taking a sip of beer.

"I hacked the FBI website, went into the Most Wanted listings, and added two profiles. Photos, names, aliases, known addresses, everything I found, I posted. I went to bed feeling accomplished. I woke up the next day with black vans circling the campus and a headline on the local news saying that the Feds are searching for a hacker on campus. After panicking for an hour, I accepted the level of fucked that I stepped into, cleared my bank account before they could freeze it, and went on the run. I soon learned that the FBI is more concerned about someone hacking their website then a pair of mob extortionists. Headed west on the gulf coast, passing Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, Louisiana. Almost got arrested in Houston, Texas. Never stayed in one location for more than two weeks. Finally, I jumped onboard a truck outside of San Antonio, Texas and was able to cross the Rio Bravo near Nuevo Laredo. FBI stopped following me when I crossed. Ragano and Mazza didn't, though I didn't know at the time. Must have really gotten under their skin, probably embarrassed them in front of their boss, ruined any hope of getting made," Benny takes larger gulps of his beer, wetting his tired throat, as Revy, Rock, and Dutch listen on. For everyone, including Dutch, this was the first time they ever heard of Benny's back story.

"After I got my feet on Mexican soil, I drifted around, doing odd jobs, repair jobs. Monterrey, Matehuala, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Durango, ultimately ended up in Mazatlan. There I got friendly with a captain of this merchant ship, this short, chubby Mexican guy named Pablo Fuentes. Had this memorable Stalin-like moustache and a balding head, looked like he was 60. Funny guy, he paid me to do some repairs for his radar. After a few drinks, he let me stow away on his boat. Dropped me off in Hat Yai, Thailand, never saw him again. From there I drifted north and east along the coast until I ended up in Roanapur. Was looking forward to spending the rest of my life working odd jobs, sipping beer, and taking in the Thai rays. Later then, I realized how persistent Ragano and Mazza were, hunting me like flies to shit. It was around March when they caught up to me, around four months after I arrived in Roanapur. I remember it was after the World Trade Center bombing, which was in February, but before the Mumbai bombings, which in mid-March, so I'd say around the first week of March was when the two pricks paid me a visit."

"I assume that this where Revy and Dutch enter the picture," Rock interrupts, to which Benny respond with "Getting there." Benny pauses to lick his dried lips and resumes "I was listening to music on the radio in my motel room when Ragano and Mazza broke in through the front door. Ragano was this skinny, short haired, around 5 foot 9 guy carrying a Glock 17L and wearing this tourist shirt that he probably bought at the airport souvenir shop. Mazza was this tallish, combed back hair, muscular guy with a thin moustache, wearing an A.C. Milan jersey and carrying a double barreled shotgun. Ragano hit me across the head with his Glock before I could throw a punch. I blacked out for a minute, only to be woken up by the two of them beating the tar out of me. Ragano said how they were tailing the FBI during the FBI's manhunt for me, and followed my tracks after the FBI gave up pursuit. Then Mazza said how they were going to tie me up, stuff me into a suitcase, and let me sink to the bottom of the Pacific. Then Mazza knocked me out with the buttstock of his shotgun…"

"And when the two were about to put Benny on a fishing boat and drop him into the water, that's when I saved his country ass," Revy blurts out, amused with herself. Confused, Rock asks "How did you know Benny was there?" Dutch chuckles to himself and answers for Revy "She crashed the Lagoon into their boat right before they were going to board it. It was a wooden boat that just burst into splinters." Revy's smirk is replaced with an annoyed look as she snarls back "Had they not left their boat in front of our usual dock, I wouldn't have fucking crashed into it! Besides, how the fuck do you not notice a boat right in front of you when you have a window?" Dutch calmly responds "Revy, the point of a radar system is so you can guide a boat when you can't see shit. All you had to do was stare at the screen and not do whatever the hell you were doing earlier," to which Revy responds by flipping the bird.

"Anyway…" Revy continues, hijacking Benny's story "The asshole with a moustache…Mazza you called him…he started shooting his shotgun at us, calling us retards and dickheads and saying that he is going to own our asses. Considering how Dutch was giving me shit for 'making' him crash into a boat, I wasn't in a good mood, so I drilled a few holes into his chest. The other guy freaked out and pulled out his pistol, and so I shot him down too. We were about to head out when Dutch heard something coming from this large suitcase. We opened it, untied Benny, and were thinking about kidnapping him for a ransom when Dutch and I resumed our shit-tossing match over him crashing into the fishing boat. Benny yelled out  _'Hey…err…pardon, but I am looking for steady work and I am really good with electronics'_. When he said that, I swear that Dutch was about to cross himself and thank the Virgin Mary or something. After that, Benny became our tech guy and I no longer had to work those retarded sonar things."

"AMEN TO THAT!" Dutch yells out, looking for a can of beer to raise, failing to find one. Benny and Rock burst out in laughter as Revy snarls at the three of them. Rock reaches for his cup of coffee, half finished, and gets up, leaving his dirty plate on the table. "The pancakes were wonderful, Benny, thanks. I'll be heading out for some air," Rock speaks out as he heads toward the ship deck.

The cool Pacific breeze tickles his face as he steps out, mixing the fresh air with a sip of moderately warm coffee. Rock leans forward on the railing, his dress shirt flapping in the breeze. He starts off across the spacious waters, not noticing Revy approaching behind him. Revy takes a sip from a recently opened can of Heineken and calls out "Ey Rocky baby, something on your mind?"

Rock arcs his head around, and then adjusts his body so that he faces Revy, his left side resting on the railing. "Nothing in particular, just wanted some fresh air," Rock responds, turning again, this time facing his back to Revy. Behind the Lagoon, the Glass King tails nearby, close enough for Rock and Revy to spot a man on the bow of the ship. The man appears to be smoking a cigarette, his rifle hanging from a sling around his right shoulder. "Thinking bout the job at hand?" Revy asks, mildly concerned, as the two stare off at the Glass King. "Yeah, I am," Rock calmly responds without blinking. Their hair sways toward the Glass King as they watch the guard. Rock continues, his blank expression unchanging "Raymond Takahashi mentioned that Chang helped him in securing Roanapur property. This is clearly Chang's attempt at getting the power void filled on his terms. The question is, is Takahashi working under Chang or with Chang? The signs point to the later, which makes his relationship different then the relationship between Balalaika and the Colombians."

Revy matches Rock's tone and responds "Yeah, with the Sicilians wiped out and Balalaika taking over their turf, Hotel Moscow has grown in size, enough to make Chang very uncomfortable. As of now, it's just him against Balalaika and Abrego, not good odds. All those former Sicilian Mafia buildings that Balalaika 'possessed' from the Roanapur government are either going to be used for making money, or sold outright, and Chang would most likely prefer that they be sold outright. Sometimes better to pay the competition to stop making drugs, or in this case, loan money to someone with your interests in mind to get those properties out of a rival's hands, then let them steal all of your customers."

Rock nods and responds "Exactly, and given that Hotel Moscow is still adjusting to their added territory, they haven't increased their supply of drugs in time, leaving these facilities inert. At the same time, the fixed costs of maintenance associated with these facilities would remain, eating away Hotel Moscow's short term profits. Not to mention the cost of repairing the former Sicilian facilities that they plan to keep. It's a short term win for Hotel Moscow, in terms of receiving a lot of cash, and a long term win for the Triads, in terms of keeping Hotel Moscow's drug production and territory in check. And that leads me to think that Takahashi is not just making meth because he can. Hotel Moscow's specialty product has been opium, which has competed tooth and nail with Chang's heroin. The two products are similar enough to steal customers away from each other, depending on preferences, yet because Chang established himself first, he gets to sell heroin, which is several times more profitable then opium. Agreements were established that Balalaika cannot sell heroin, which has been a sore point, since opium is relatively easy to convert into heroin. And now, Takahashi's meth will be in competition with Abrego's cocaine. If Takahashi is to sell cocaine, he would not be able to out match Abrego on quality and supply. If Takahashi is to sell meth, then he must be able to differentiate his product from Abrego's cocaine, either through cheaper prices or…more likely, high quality and better results. I will not be surprised if inside that ship is a team of highly trained chemists that are making the product as we speak. Yes…yes…this is the plan, Chang and Takahashi competing side by side. One group cornering the depressants sector, the other cornering the stimulants sector. At the very least, this should theoretically stabilize Roanapur, keep Hotel Moscow from issuing demands of their own, and prevent a massive Triad/Hotel Moscow war."

Revy responds, taking a large gulp from her beer "Heh, sounds Takahashi and we are doing Roanapur a fucking favor." The two of them stare at the lone sentry finishing his cigarette on the Glass King. The sentry spots Rock and Revy and waves his right hand at them, to which Rock and Revy wave back. The guard tosses his cigarette off the boat and heads back inside. "What's your take on Takahashi himself?" Rock asks Revy, still staring at the Glass King. "Him? Ehh…the guy seems pretty professional, pretty clean actually. Honestly, if you would have told me that he is a drug lord, without me knowing beforehand that he is our client, I would have pissed myself laughing. The guy talks, walks, and acts way too clean to be a kingpin in Roanapur."

Rock chuckles lightly and responds "He does kind of remind me of a few managers I had back when I was working in Japan. Wonder what pushed him to sell shabu." Rock takes a gulp of his coffee and adds "Strange really, how we end up in places. How the roads we take put us in places we'd least expect."

Revy heaves a sigh and responds "Heh, you know that as well as anyone else on this boat." She finishes her beer and crushes it, tossing it overboard. Rock takes a final gulp of his coffee and replies "Yeah…Yeah."

The two stare in silence, watching the Glass King shine under the Pacific sun. Rock leans backwards, resting the back of his head on Revy's chest, as the two continue to watch. To watch, and wait.

 


	3. 6 2 6

"So this is Port Moresby…too undeveloped. No, no, poor place for actual facilities…"Takahashi mutters, walking on sand, surveying the locale of Kupiano, Papua New Guinea. He stares at a small collection of houses scattered in front of the makeshift dock, the Lagoon and the Glass King being the only ships at dock. A few of the inhabitants walk between houses, staring at the strange ships. The villagers wear old clothing that seems to come from a Christian missionary clothes drive. "You do understand that this is just a village, Mr. Takahashi? Port Moresby is a…well…I wouldn't call it a thriving city…but it's a city," Dutch calls out, walking toward Takahashi. "Yes, of course I know!" Takahashi replies "I am more concerned with the lack of infrastructure. All I see is a single dirt road snaking through the hills and probably then along the shore. Of course, that will be more of my partner's issue then mine."

Rock and Revy approach their boss and their client, kicking sand into the wind. Revy covers her shoulder straps and Beretta pistols with a black and red tracksuit, the top of the tracksuit a black colored valley filled by a red triangle shaped like a V, the bottom a black color with a single white stripe on each side. "What the hell are we doing here? I thought we are supposed to meet up with a second ship?" Revy asks, annoyed. Takahashi turns around and answers "I mentioned how my partner is retrieving a vital ingredient for our operation. The two of you are to escort him back to this dock. He is currently in Port Moresby with the product at hand. He was unable to arrive here with the product because he would prefer not to risk a Papua New Guinea Coast Guard inspection while waiting for me. His ship is the one out there in the distance," Takahashi points toward a distant ship docked half a kilometer away, appearing to be white and slightly smaller than the Glass King.

"Why the fuck didn't you just have him meet us at sea?" Revy asks, perplexed at the redundancy of Takahashi's request. Takahashi glares at Revy, thoroughly annoyed "I phoned my partner when we were in Guam and I asked for an update on his task at hand. The amount of time that my business partner, Songxie Tong, said he required to purchase this product was a day less than the amount of time it was needed for us to arrive in Papua New Guinea from Guam. If we were to meet at sea, and something unexpectedly causes a hiccup in the timing, we would not be able to communicate with each other. I do not want to spend an entire day playing Marco Polo with our ships! My plan is to use his ship as a diversion if Black Lagoon Company underperforms in their escort duties. Clearly, my expectations need to be lowered from what I have seen from you so far. Now shut up and do what you are paid to do!"

Revy grinds her teeth and thinks of clocking Takahashi in the face, but a tap on her shoulder from Rock dissuades her. "Hn!" Revy snarls, calming herself down. After restraining herself, Revy says "Last time we were here, we stopped right by Port Moresby. How the hell you expect us to get there from this shit for bricks village?" Takahashi points toward a bus terminal nearby and answers "Public transportation. Here, some money that you could exchange for tokens." Takahashi hands out a pair of dollar bills, to which Rock grabs them. "You got to be shitting me," Revy mutters under her breath.

"Tong promised to be at the bar called the 'Leahy Brothers Watering Hole'. It is supposed to be near the bus stop at the commercial fishing wharf. He is the Chinese man wearing a green jacket and jeans. Tell him that Takahashi sent you," Takahashi concludes. Rock and Revy silently nod at both Takahashi and Dutch, walking toward the bus terminal. A quick exchange of money for bus tokens and the two relocate to a wooden, rotting bench, waiting for the bus to Port Moresby to arrive.

Four others wait with them, a young couple with a pre-school age son, the son walking around shirtless, and a middle aged man in a worn cowboy hat smoking a cigarette. Rock and Revy pull out cigarettes of their own and light them. The embers slowly burn through the tobacco of Revy's cigarette, leaving ash behind. After exhaling smoke, she quietly speaks out to Rock "It got me thinking, last two times we were here, and now today." Rock turns his head toward Revy, waiting for her to continue. After acknowledging that she has Rock's attention, she goes on "We are in the middle of Oceania, right? Papua New Guinea is in Southeast Asia. Indonesians look Asian, like darker skinned Chinese Asian. West of this country is a part of Indonesia, Irian Java. So it's safe to assume that people in Irian Java look like other Indonesians, right?" Rock knocks some ash off his cigarette and asks "What are trying to ask?" Revy answers "Why do Papua New Guineans look like East Africans?" Rock thinks to himself and answers "Well, Papua New Guinea has a lot of different ethnic groups. The ones we saw here and in Port Moresby are mostly Papuans. My guess? I think a lot of locals from Eastern African long ago decided to migrate east by boat. After settling Mauritius and become part of that island, some went further east and landed in Irian Java. The people of Irian Java also have African looking features like the people of Papua New Guinea. Over time, I guess they felt content with this giant island and didn't bother to sail west into Indonesia, I think. Besides, Papuans are Pacific Islanders, and have more in common with them then Africa."

As Rock concludes, Revy asks "Do you have evidence to back it up or are you just bullshitting? And isn't the Indian Ocean to fucking huge to cross back then?" Rock smirks and answers "Yeah, you caught me. I didn't really take any anthropology classes back in Japan. So, yes, bullshitting mostly, though I do know that the Australians were the first Westerners that the people of Papua New Guinea encountered. When the Australians explored the island, they found more than a million natives living on the island. They found gold on the island and started paying the locals in shells for their work in mining the gold. Eventually the villagers got their hands on guns, gangs and special interest groups started to form around the vast coffee plantations on the island, and the whole place went to hell."

Revy nods, absorbing the information. She exhales smoke and arcs her head back, before remembering "You said that you were not the first employee in your company to get kidnapped, right? That someone got snatched here, right?" Rock leans his head forward, trying to spot a bus in the distance. "Yeah, he worked in the same department as me, but we never talked. I don't even remember his name," Rock answers, leaning back to his seat after failing to spot a bus. "You ever wonder if he went pirate like you did?" Revy asks, stamping her feet on the dirt ground. "Oh I know he didn't," Rock answers, pausing to take a drag on his cigarette. "Why fucking not, what makes you so special?" Revy asks, smirking. "They found him in a motel in Port Moresby, his head separated from his body, thanks to a machete." Revy nods and responds with a nonchalant "Gotcha".

The bus arrives from their left, a white and sky blue stripped vehicle that could fit roughly 20 passengers, 5 rows of seats, 2 seats on each side of the row. A crack in the front window, appearing to be from a gunshot, sticks out like a sore thumb The cramped bus creaks to a stop, a large side door slides away, and four people, all Papuans, exit the bus carrying plastic bags filled with groceries. Revy, Rock, and the man in the cowboy hat put out their cigarettes and approach the entrance. The cowboy hat man steps inside, handing over a token to the driver, a Papuan man in a pink striped shirt and shorts, displaying a moustache and a thin beard. The driver pockets the token as the cowboy hat man moves toward a fabric seat in the back. Revy steps in, next in line, and submits her token, followed by Rock. The two find a pair of empty seats next to the left side window, Revy taking the window seat. The Papuan family submits their tokens and find a pair of seats behind Rock and Revy, the boy sitting on his mother's lap. The driver motions to a white passenger, pointing toward the sliding door. "Aight, gotcha mate," the passenger responds in an Australian accent, sliding the door shut. A short pause and the bus slowly accelerates out of the locale, following the snaking dirt road called the Magi Highway. It approaches a giant gated fence, halts, and waits for someone to open the fence for them. After opening, the bus resumes its journey, leaving the village in the dust.

Revy slouches on her left shoulder, moving her head to rest it on the window. As soon as she touches the glass, she feels cracked glass and quickly jerks her head toward the window. A bullet hole sits idly on the window, forming a web of cracks around it. "Jesus…it's like the driver either can't afford repairs or this shit happens on a usual basis," Revy mutters to herself, loud enough for Rock to hear. A few of the fellow passengers stare at the odd Asian pair, muttering to each other. Rock looks around and surveys the passengers. Most of them look like locales, with Revy, Rock, and the Australian being the only ones that look like 'tourists'.

The two stay silent for a few minutes until Revy whispers into Rock's ear "I don't fucking like this, us being separated from Dutch and Benny. This Songxie guy, we're supposed to meet him? That means he has a car and is sitting on some product or ingredient or whatever, in this cesspit, cause I sure as shit doubt that we are gonna be carrying drugs on a bus. If that's true, then why the fuck wouldn't he just drive the product to the docks and sip beer on his ship? I don't buy the coast guard excuse, all that we saw out at sea were a few fishing boats. This stinks like a set-up." Rock leans toward Revy and whispers into her ear "Why would the man, Takahashi, drag himself from Hawaii, personally, to have us killed. We are just couriers and part-time pirates, that's all." Revy's volume slightly rises "Yeah, that Luca lunatic sure thought we were just couriers, eh Rocky? And those friends of his that want to buy you a beer? You got to be shitting me! Seriously, if Songxie and Takahashi have any brains, they'll know that it's a bigger risk to stay in this fucking anarchy then risk the coast guard of a 3rd world fucking country!" Rock simply shakes his head and responds "Revy, from all the time I worked my old job back in Japan, I have seen some of the most stubborn and narcissistic managers come and go. Takahashi seems to be a smart guy when it comes to managing a business, at least back in 'civilization', but seems like the type of guy that falls in love with an idea as soon as he thinks it. Stubborn enough to not realize the redundancies in his plan, but I have seen worse." Revy laughs and replies "Ha! Back in civilization, eh? For four eye's fucking sake, I hope he realizes that he ain't in 'civilization'. Seriously, how the hell is this idiot planning on surviving in Roanapur?" Rock smiles and answers "We'll probably find out soon enough".

A native local in shorts stands on the dirt road, several meters away from the forest behind him. He appears to be hitchhiking a ride. The bus quickly speeds up and ignores the hitchhiker. "You ready for this, Rock?" Revy asks Rock, who stares at her in confusion. "Ready for what?" Rock asks. "I mean ready for anything that could happen. I already said how I don't like this," she responds, before adding "You carrying?" Rock arcs his head back, almost looking annoyed, and subtly raises the left side of his dress shirt up, exposing his bandaged torso and the back of the slide of his M9. "I am sure you are carrying yours as well," Rock emotionlessly responds, letting his dress shirt fall back into place. Revy unzips the top of her tracksuit halfway, displaying her black shirt and her shoulder holsters, both pistols in their respective holster. She zips her tracksuit back up and slouches in her seat.

"Heh, been a while since I wore a tracksuit. Wore one when I left Manhattan for good. Shit, I think the one I wore was also black and red," Revy blurts out, reminiscing. Curious, Rock asks "What happened after…well, after you first fired a gun in your life?" Rock grows silent for several seconds and then continues "I pretty much did the same thing in practice that we do here in the Lagoon, in theory. As in, moving shit from place to place. Drugs, guns, news, basically worked as a courier for several months. Then one day, these two cops spot me near this garbage truck depot on W 30 St, between Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea. They were the two cops that arrested me the day that…well…" Revy pauses, restraining herself. "The two recognized me. They thought at first that I was a victim in my father's death, that I just disappeared. When they saw me roaming around, they put two and two together and tried to arrest me. I shot them both, first one in the thigh and ribs, twice, the other once in the chest. After that, I panicked and ran toward Penn Station, took an Amtrak, thank fuck that I had enough for a ticket and the train was only ten minutes away, and fled to Newark, New Jersey. That was the start of my slow exit out of the States and into Mexico," Revy concludes, remember her first steps into New Jersey.

"What happened after you ended up in Newark?" Rock asks. "Hm…I remember spending a night at a crack den, one of the shittiest days in my life that day. There were kids younger than me, breathing in that disgusting shit. Next morning, I checked the papers, and the two officers, Officer Zhang and Officer Snyder, survived the shooting, with Officer Snyder paralyzed from the waist down. They knew me by name but, as luck would have it, couldn't find a single photo of me. They didn't take a photo when they booked me for 'theft', and they didn't find any photos in my…father's apartment. And the social worker that kept records of me? Misplaced them, so all the police had was a sketch that the two cops came up with, and my name, Rebecca Zhao. It wasn't that good of a sketch, so I ended up with some space and time to stay in the States for a while, went by the name of Revy. I came up with the name that morning, and it stuck," Revy concludes, stretching her back.

Rock nods in acknowledgement, growing silent as the bus snakes through the road, Port Moresby coming closer and closer. After an hour and a half of occasional stops at villages along the Magi Highway, the forest turns into urban sprawl and a hub of activity as the bus enters the city. After navigating through residential districts, the bus closes in on the commercial port. An armada of fishing ships and tug boats dot the docks on the left side of the road. The bus screeches to a halt next to a construction site, the skeleton of a four floor building roasting under the Oceanic sun. In front of the construction site, a man hands out tokens in exchange for cash, standing in front of a wooden makeshift kiosk. "THE PORT!" the driver yells out, motioning at the Australian sounding tourist. The tourist responds by sliding open the doors, as Rock and Revy step out, followed by the man in the cowboy hat. Rock turns to the man in the cowboy hat and asks "Excuse me, you know where the Leahy Brothers Watering Hole is?" The cowboy hat man turns to Rock, stares at him for a few seconds, and then says in a thick Papuan accent, talking with his hands "The Leahy Hole? Aight then, you go to the end of the street, turn right on at Japanese embassy, and follow Cuthbertson Street. Leahy Hole is first place with black roof, right before Yankee embassy." Rock nods and responds with a "Thank you" as the cowboy hat man crosses the street to the docks and Rock and Revy follow his directions.

They carefully walk through the streets of Port Moresby, ignoring a resident trying to sell them knock off junk. After passing the Japanese embassy, the two spot the bar mere meters away. Revy approaches the entrance of the bar first, unzipping the top of her tracksuit 3 quarters of the way, enough to allow her to draw her Cutlasses with ease. "You ready, Rock?" Revy asks, feeling tense. Rock nods, leaning his right shoulder on the doorframe of the bar. Revy slowly opens the door and steps inside. The room is mostly dim, a mass of cigarette smoke mingles with what smells like smoke from burning marijuana. A small Papuan boy, looking to be around 5 years old, scurries toward the bartender, a 40 something year old looking man in a beige cotton shirt, with short, black hair combed back and a thin goatee. A trio of men who look to be in their late 20s, wearing shorts, tight cotton shirts, and bandanas on either their head or hanging from their neck, drink and chat in a distant corner of the bar. A stool length away from the bartender, a man with short black hair, wearing jeans, cheap-looking black sneakers, and a green flak jacket similar to Dutch's, sits on a bar stool, drinking straight from a bottle.

Revy unholsters the Cutlass on her left shoulder strap and moves it into the front left pocket of the top of her tracksuit. The two of them nervously walk toward the bartender. Revy speaks out "We're looking for a guy named Songxie Tong, where is he?" The man in the green flak jacket slams a Glock 17 on the bar counter. "Who askin'?" the man says in a thick Cantonese accent. Revy digs her right arm into the pocket with the Cutlass. Griping the pistol in her right hand, she answers "We were sent by a four eyed fuck that goes by the name 'Takahashi'." The man in the flak jacket bursts out laughing and turns to them. His face is of distinct Cantonese character, dark honey brown skin, high cheek bones, a thin moustache, short, combed forward black hair. His face is flat with thin cheeks, and the head of a snake tattoo can be seen poking out of a black V-neck undershirt. The man, who looks to be in his late 30s, responds "Yeah, I Songxie. Bout fucking time! I wait in shit city for whole extra day because Takahashi scared of coast guard. Coast guard? Fuck coast guard! In time I was here, I saw woman get raped, man get executed on streets. Heard screaming outside walls of motel room twenty-four-seven. I should be in boat, not watching over back for knife in kidney!" Revy and Rock sit themselves by the counter, with Revy sitting next to Songxie to the left. "One beer each, Corona," Rock notifies the bartender, who nods and gets to work. "Takahashi said that you didn't want to deal with the coast guard," Revy says to Songxie. Songxie heaves a sigh and says "Takahashi took out context! I complained, yes, but much rather be in boat then in shit!" "So why didn't you just say 'fuck Takahashi' and head to your boat?" Revy asks. Songxie shrugs his shoulders and answers "Would do if simple, but driving with car full of phenylacetone? Makes myself fucking target for highwayman, no good! Need someone to open fence for me, that someone be Takahashi. Would have called Satele or Reynolds or someone from my boat, but cell phone got pick pocketed, fuckers!" The bartender props a pair of opened bottles of Corona on the counter, with a pair of lime slices seesawing on a napkin. "I heard things, but are the roads really that dangerous?" Rock asks, squeezing lime juice into his Corona. "If all goes good, no worry bout highwayman," Songxie answers, and then asks "By way, your names?" "My name is Rock, her name is Revy," Rock answers Songxie's question, pointing at Revy. "Rock…Revy," Songxie speaks to himself, nodding.

Rock takes a gulp from his Corona, as Revy follows suit. "So…" Revy asks, staring at the Corona logo "What brought you and Takahashi together?" Songxie suddenly grows quiet, feeling selective on what he wants to say next. He takes a sip of his almost empty bottle of beer and answers "He paid me to do job, job with Mister Chang. Transport work, that's all. Few years later he gives call, says Mister Chang recommended me for admini-strative job. Now, Takahashi handle production and public relations, I handle men and distribution." Revy stares at Songxie for a few seconds and speaks out "Transport job means human smuggling. I recognize your tat. You're a snakehead, a Triad smuggler." Songxie squirms in his seat for a few seconds and then says "Okay, yes I am, no matter anymore…can we get out now? I had to owe favor to buyer, ask him to hold goods and keep on guard. Want to also shower for once this week!" Songxie slams a fistful of currency onto the bar counter and gets off his stool. As Revy and Rock follow suit, the three men in bandanas and shorts block their exit. One of the men, a guy with a bandana on his head, sporting a thin moustache and a goatee, and displaying a large tattoo on his right, exposed shoulder that says ' _Raskolz'_ , speaks out "Wait, wait, man! You come to Port Moresby and not give any respect to masta Norman Sowera, eh? No respect to the Raskolz, eh? You pay with cash money, how about pay me an me boys for keepin ya safe, ya see?" Norman spits out betelnut onto the bar floor and pulls out what looks like a makeshift magnum made from various parts, the barrel looking like it came from a table umbrella. Songxie, Revy, and Norman's two fellow gangsters pull out guns of their own. Rock struggles to draw his gun, pulling it out awkwardly several seconds after the other five pulled out their guns. Songxie gives a dirty stare at Rock as Norman chuckles. "Ha, by the time you point gun at me I got time to kill you once for every person in this bar!" Norman blurts out laughing, amused with himself. The little boy huddles by a table next to Songxie, who spots this as an opportunity. He readjusts his Glock 17 into his left hand and points the pistol at the little boy, saying "We kill each other, no one cares. I kill little boy, police and army with drill all of us free assholes, no one lives." Norman's eyes widen as he holsters his homemade magnum, saying "You are a sick man, you chink, pointing guns at little boys." One of the two unnamed Raskolz, a man in sunglasses, wearing a bandana on his forehead, and sporting a tattoo on his neck that says '6 2 6', speaks out "Masta Norman, this man is bullshiting, he don't got balls to shoot a child." The bartender runs out through the back door, screaming for help and for the police. "Shut up Tuksy…fuck this, we gonna get outta here," Norman yells, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "Ferguson Kent," Norman speaks out to the other Raskolz gangster, a man with a bandana over his mouth and a bald head "Tuksy Morea, let's get out of here. As for you three, I remember you, I remember your face. You better not step in Port Moresby again, you sick fuckers!" The three Raskolz run out of the building together. Songxie turns to Revy and Rock and says "Let's get out city already before we get arrested!" Songxie jogs out of the bar as Revy and Rock keep up with him.

Driving a bluish green Chevy Tahoe, Rock cuts through the empty dirt road, heading back to the docks. Smoking a cigarette, Revy slouches on the front side passenger seat. Behind Rock, Songxie yells out "What fuck was up with you and gun? Slow draw almost got you dead, almost got everybody dead!" Revy barks back "Lay off him, Songxie, he hasn't had time to practice." Songxie stares at Revy with a look of extreme annoyance and disgust and responds "PRACTICE? Chang recommend you to Takahashi, said you good! I never know Chang recommend amateurs!" "Will you give it a rest, Songxie?" Rock answers, annoyed with Songxie. "You no talk! You no earn talk! You shut fuck up, drive, and don't stop for nobody, understand?" Songxie curses, visibly angry. Rock shrugs his shoulders as Revy gives Songxie the bird. Songxie responds with a middle finger of his own, and then turns around to stare at the barrels of phenylacetone in the back of the car. "So when did you and Mister Chang meet? Was it when you were doing the job for Takahashi?" Revy asks, curious. Songxie shakes his head and answers "No, meet Chang way before job, in Kowloon." "What was your impression of Chang, back then?" Revy asks, taking a drag on her cigarette. "Besides Chang be hypocrite and cocksucker? Sunglasses faggot fined me for be drunk on streets, so I spit on his shoes. Asshole put me in jail for two months! This was back when Chang was police. Now he go dirty, acts like we're same! Fuck him!" Songxie rants out. He heaves a sigh and asks Revy "That answer question, ABC?" Revy's eyes twitch as she responds "Fuck you, Mister Chinglish!"

As Revy and Songxie prepare to enter a pissing match, the Chevy Tahoe suddenly slows down. A man in a white shirt, an orange jacket, jeans, and sneakers stands in the middle of the road. "Wha…wha…why you stop? KEEP DRIVING!" Songxie yells. Rock turns around and yells back "You want me to run him over?" "IF HAVE TO, YES!" Songxie screams as the car slows to a halt. Suddenly six Papuan highwaymen jump out from the right side of the road, emerging from the grass. One of the men runs out with a Remington 870 shotgun, dressed in a dirty trench coat and fishing hat. Three of the men run out in randomly patterned t-shirts and shorts, panama hats, and sneakers, wielding Smith and Wesson Model 28s. Two of the men run out shirtless and barefoot in beige shorts, bandanas covering their faces and fire axes in their hands. One of the shirtless bandits slides his axe across the dirt road, letting the metal screech across the ground. All six of them scream out "OUT OUT OUT!" as the orange jacket man steps to the side of the road.

"You did get us fucked now…Rock," Songxie curses under his breath as the six highwaymen surround the car. "OUT OUT!" they keep yelling as Rock panics behind the wheel. "Look here, barrels!" one of the shirtless bandits yells out, peering into the back of the Tahoe. "On the count three, Rock, you duck and me and Songxie will draw our guns and waste these fuckers. When you hear the gunshots, hit the fucking gas," Revy speaks out, to which Rock and Songxie simultaneously nod in acknowledgement.

*Bang* The man with the shotgun fires a round into the air as the three men with Smith and Wesson revolvers each take a window next to the occupants of the car. "Three…two," Revy mutters, reaching for the Cutlass in her tracksuit pocket. Songxie slowly reaches for his Glock 17, staring at the barrel of the highwayman's revolver.

"ONE!" Revy yells, drawing her Cutlass. As Rock ducks his head, Revy lunges for the driver side window and fires two shots at the bandit, shattering the window and hitting the bandit twice in the chest, killing him. The bandit at the front side passenger seat fires a pair of bullets into the car, shattering the window and harmlessly drilling two holes into Revy's seat. Meanwhile Songxie drops backwards on his back, draws his Glock 17, and fires a bullet at the highway by his window. The bullet burrows through the glass and rests itself in the bandit's skull, killing him instantly. Rock immediately steps on the gas, Revy laying awkwardly on Rock's back, as the man with the shotgun fires a volley into the top of the front window, shattering it to pieces. The Chevy Tahoe smacks into the shotgun wielding man and an axe wielding man, knocking the fire axe man out of the way, injuring him. The shotgun wielding man loses his shotgun and his fishing hat as he holds on to the front window frame of the Chevy Tahoe, his friends being left in the dust. The trench coat man holds on with his left hand as he lunges at Rock and Revy with his right, grabbing at them through the shattered driver's window. Revy raises her Cutlass at the bandit, only to have the bandit grab on to the barrel of the gun. The highwayman struggles to keep the barrel pointed away from his head, trying to turn the barrel toward Revy's head, when Rock shoves his left fist into the highwayman's neck. The bandit loses his grip on the Cutlass, barely holding on to the window frame. Seeing this as their opportunity, Revy aims her Cutlass at the bandit's forehead, the barrel mere inches away from him, and pulls the trigger. Blood and brain matter spray onto the dirt road, and a little blood sprays onto the interior of the car, as the corpse of the dead bandit flips around on the road, the Chevy Tahoe leaving it in the dust.

All three occupants start panting after the ordeal concludes. Songxie stares angrily at the shattered windows of the Chevy Tahoe. Suddenly, he frantically jerks his head toward the barrels of phenylacetone in the trunk. Spotting this, Rock asks "Do you want me to slow down?" "NO! FUCKING SHUT FUCK UP AND DRIVE!" Songxie screeches out, almost ready to pop a blood vessel in his head. He scans the barrels, searching for any damage. To his relief, the man with the shotgun fired above the barrels, and he used buckshot instead of birdshot. Besides damage to the rear seating, all Songxie could find is a scratch on one of the barrels. "Phew," Songxie ventilates, relieved that none of the phenylacetone was lost.

"YOU FUCKING RETARD SHIT-BRAIN!" Songxie yells out, fuming "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD HAPPEN? FIRST, HAD HIGHWAYMAN TAKE CAR, THEY KILL US, ROCK AND I, THEN TAKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND AND RAPE HER, THEN KILL!" Revy's eyes twitch as she turns her Cutlass as Songxie "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DON'T FUCKING SAY ANOTHER WORD CHINGLISH!" Songxie aims his Glock at Revy and continues "YOU UNDERSTAND HOW CLOSE BOYFRIEND GOT US ALL DEAD, ABC? IF ONE SHOTGUN BULLET HIT BARREL, WHOLE CAR GO BOOM! I WAS SO CLOSE TO DYING TODAY, TWICE, BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID PARTNER! AND WHO WILL PAY FOR CAR, FOR GLASS?" Revy's face turns blood red in anger as her entire body starts shaking. She furiously mutters "Whatever…could of happened…is in the fucking past…Right now, we are alive, and whatever will happen about the damages…will get fucking resolved. But if you don't…shut…the…FUCK UP NOW, I will shoot you in your right arm, take your gun, shove the barrel so far up your unwashed Chinglish ass, and pull the trigger…so that YOU WILL BE BREATHING THROUGH A NEW SET OF NOSTRILS!" Revy and Songxie silently hiss at each other, their guns hovering, when Rock slowly pushes Revy's Cutlass down and says "Let us all just get back to the docks and solve this there. We have been in a screwed up situation, and are high on our nerves. Just, move this for…" "SHUT FUCK UP!" Songxie screams out, to which Revy responds with an insult.

The two trade insults for the remainder of the trip, until Rock stops the Chevy Tahoe by the gate. The gate screeches open and the shot up car enters the village. Rock drives along the dirt road, passing the bus stop, and stops near the docks. As Dutch and Takahashi approach the Tahoe, they could hear the sound of a Cantonese smuggler and an American born Chinese gunwoman launching volleys of swears at each other as if it was the Battle of Trafalgar. As the occupants exit the vehicle, Songxie spots Takahashi and yells "Where fuck you be? And for that matter, where you found these fuck amateurs?" Takahashi eyes the damage of the car and asks "Is the phenylacetone safe and sound?" Songxie responds "Yes, but them". Takahashi interrupts Songxie and says "And you are clearly alive, yes? They did as they were told, and so I see no issue here. Well done, perhaps you are a very competent team after all, Black Lagoon." Songxie's jaw drops as he stares at Takahashi with an incredulous look on his face. "What fuck bout my car? Who pay for fucking windows, for fucking seats, FOR FUCKING DAMAGE?" he screams, not believing what he is hearing. Takahashi calmly stares at him and answers "That car is at least seven years old and you yourself purchased it as used. You have attempted to sell that car but no one would purchase it in the condition it was already in, at least not for your asking price of $3,000. The best you could have gotten for it would be around a few hundred dollars in a scrap yard, and those windows would probably net you $50 if you are lucky. If you so desire, I will mark the $50 as an expense out of Black Lagoon's payment."

Songxie silently glares at Takahashi, points his left index finger at him, and then says "You…we will discuss in Roanapur. I no done, understand?" Songxie steps back into his Chevy Tahoe, slams the car door, and speeds off toward his ship, which is situated in a dock further down the road. As he drives off, Songxie yells "FUCK!" at such a volume that half the people in the village could hear him. Takahashi turns toward Dutch, who is standing behind him, and says "Well, now that that is settled, I say we resume to our business of arriving in Roanapur. You remember our escort plans, correct?" Dutch nods and responds "Yeah, I remember. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but sailing these waters…things can get pretty damn hairy." Takahashi nods as he heads toward his ship, turning his back to Lagoon Company, who are heading back to their torpedo boat. When Dutch considers himself to be out of Takahashi's earshot, he asks Rock and Revy "What the hell happened with you two and that Chinese man?" As Rock prepares to answer, Revy stops him with a tug on his dress shirt and responds "Long story short, we got ambushed by roadside pricks. Songxie got pissed over car damage and tried to blame it on us. Doesn't matter anyway, as the shit we were hauling wasn't damaged." Dutch stares at Revy and responds "Well, if you say so. Takahashi seemed fine, and since he's paying our bills, that's what matters." The trio walks toward their ship, staring at Benny, who is slouching on the deck with a can of beer in his hands.

The calm Pacific waves fly in two directions as the Lagoon cuts through the Arafura Sea and protects the rear of the Glass King, with Songxie's ship protecting the front of the Glass King. Metal quickly flashes, and then disappears, and then flashes again. Rock stands on the port side of the Lagoon, drawing his M9 pistol out, and then holstering it. He practices with various places on his person to conceal the M9, and deduces that his original spot in the back of his waist was ideal. Afterwards, he practices his draw, trying to imagine enemies in front of him. A quick draw and he pulls the trigger twice, the pistol harmlessly clicking as it has no ammunition in it, the bullets being set aside. As he draws, Rock imagines an Extra Order mercenary carrying an AR-15. In his imagination, the merc staggers back after being shot and disappears into thin air. Rock holsters his M9 and tries again, this time shooting at Masahiro Takenaka, the Japanese Red Army terrorist that held Rock hostage in the Philippines. Holstering his M9 for a third time, he draws again, his draw becoming quicker and more natural, empting two imaginary bullets into an imaginary Frederica Sawyer, her chainsaw sinking through the ship. Not satisfied, Rock holsters his pistol once more, trying to imagine Chaka as his next source of inspiration for target practice. He fires his two false shots and then holsters the M9, becoming increasingly comfortable with his draw. Wishing to practice one more time, Rock holsters his M9 and tries to materialize a new imaginary target. Thinking back into Japan, he slowly starts materializing Balalaika in his imagination, her aiming at him with that Stechkin APS. As he draws his M9, faster than before, the image of Balalaika slowly alters into someone else, causing Rock to grind his teeth in anger. He fires one, two, soon eleven times into the bullet ridden corpse of the imaginary Yukio Washimine, the katana dangling through her neck. As she dissipates into thin air, Rock's hands shake violently, his teeth grind on each other, and his eyes twitch. ' _YOU…STUPID BITCH!"_ he thinks to himself.

Rock suddenly hears someone walking along the Lagoon. He quickly reaches for the pistol clip he left on the floor and slammed it into his M9. As he prepares to holster the gun, he hears Revy, still dressed in her tracksuit, speak out "That you, Rock? What you up to?" Realizing it is Revy, Rock conceals his M9 at a much slower pace, greeting Revy as he covers his dress shirt over his gun.

"Practicing my draw, to make sure that what happened at the bar would never happen again," Rock answers, loosening the joint in his right shoulder. "Good move," Revy comments, staring at Rock with a tired expression on her face. She runs her right hand through her hair, scratching her head. "You aren't angry at me for screwing up?" Rock asks, taking in the Pacific breeze. Revy looks toward the Glass King and responds "Let me put it this way. Out of the various ways you fucked up so far, this was on the 'hey shit happens' side of the spectrum. I'm just going to assume that you won't make the same mistake again." Rock smiles to himself and speaks out "Heh, you sure have changed since I first met you." Revy responds with smile and says "Speak for yourself, Rock."

The two lean on the guardrail and grow silent for a minute, until Rock blurts out "Something tells me that Songxie isn't going to invite me for his New Year's party." Revy lets out a laugh and replies "Yeah, I'd bet money on that being the case. Will tell you, though, Songxie wasn't what I expected when Takahashi mentioned that he had a partner. The two of them are like 'Pinky and the Brain' meets 'Scarface'. Right down to the part where the retarded one has trouble with the English language." Rock smiles and chuckles to himself. Revy, amused, continues "Hell, maybe we should introduce him to Shenhua, have them ass fuck the English language together." Rock bursts out into laughter, chuckling loudly. "Thanks Revy, I needed that," he says.

Rock grips his hands tightly on the metallic guardrail, letting the Pacific mist tickle his face. Revy places her hands on the guardrail as well, her left hand barely centimeters away from Rock's right hand. She slowly slides her left hand to Rock's right, until the two hands come in contact. They turn to face each, partially smile, and slowly move their heads closer, until their lips touch.

A second after their lips touch, the sound of a slamming metallic door causes the two to cease what they are doing and jerk their heads toward the source. Their large, apparently ex-military, boss walks toward them, hands in his pants pockets. "Rock, Revy, I've been giving you time to tell me on your own," Dutch says, as Rock and Revy nervously respond with a "What?" Dutch adjusts his sunglasses and says "What really happened at Port Moresby, that got Songxie so pissed off?"

Rock and Revy silently exhale a sigh of relief as Revy answers Dutch's question. "These three dickheads, calling themselves ' _The Raskolz'_  pulled guns on us and demanded that we pay them out of 'respect'. Songxie diffused the potential shit storm, but got pissed that Rock wasn't carrying a gun, saying how that almost got all three of us killed. Then while Rock drove us back to the village, this guy, what I at first thought was a retarded hitchhiker, decided to stand in the middle of the road. When Rock stopped the car, this mob of highwaymen came out with fire axes and guns. Songxie and I managed to take out three of them, but the car got shot up. Again, Songxie gave Rock shit and blamed him for the damages," Revy finishes, weaving a lie amongst the truth. Dutch soaks in the information and responds "Well, as long as Songxie ain't paying the bills, we're good. And by the way, the Raskolz are a blanket term for all of the gangs in Papua New Guinea. The Raskol gangs evolved from working petty shit like burglary and pick pocketing to working in the pot trade, extortion and kidnapping, and some serious piracy. I had a run in with them once. One rival Raskol gang was tailing me after I made a pickup for transport. They attacked me at sea, at least I think it was them, trying to take the Lagoon, but I was able to outrun them before shots were exchanged."

Rock stares at Dutch and asks him "What doe mean? I saw it as a tattoo on one of those Raskolz." Dutch arcs his neck back and answers "Depends on the context. While you were in Port Moresby, I saw this van drive by near the village, covered in graffiti. On that van it said 'Six 2 Six', which means partying from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. If that tattoo is on a Raskol, it means fighting or going to war from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M." Rock nods in acknowledgement and says "I see." Dutch looks toward the setting orange sun, checking a stainless steel watch that he purchased shortly after the Feng fiasco. The time, adjusted for Australian Eastern Standard Time, is displayed as 4:52 P.M. "I'll go head in for a beer, catch you two later," Dutch concludes, turning toward the entrance into the interior of the Lagoon.

As Dutch prepares to reach the entrance, Benny jumps out, screaming "DUTCH! I was screaming for you for over a few minutes! We got fucking company! One large unidentified boat far away that is sending 6 smaller boats at us!" As soon as Benny finishes, he pulls out a flare gun and fires the flare into the sky. Dutch hurriedly responds "Good, Songxie and Takahashi got the message! Rock, Benny, head to the armory and fetch us grenades, M79 grenade launchers, anything automatic! Revy, your holding down the fort! I am going to turn us around and intercept our guests!" Rock, Revy, and Benny all nod in unison as Revy draws her two Cutlasses. Rock and Benny run toward the armory and search for the requested weapons. "I'll handle the M79 and the grenades, you're too darn clumsy!" Benny remarks, to which Rock doesn't contest to. Rock stares silently at his Uzi, still in the shoulder strap. Benny, already holding the grenade launcher and an open crate of 40mm grenades, yells "What the hell you're staring at? C'mon, we are under fucking attack!" Benny shakes his head and runs out the armory without Rock, as Rock grabs the Uzi, putting on the shoulder strap with the Uzi on it. He grabs a Heckler and Koch MP5A3 as well, holding it in his hands. Meanwhile, Benny runs toward Dutch and the captain's deck, setting the grenade launcher and the grenades on the floor. "Brace yourself, Benny boy!" Dutch yells as he sharply turns the Lagoon around. Benny holds on to a table, maintaining his balance, while outside, Revy slips and falls on her back, shouting out "FUCK!" As Rock runs out of the armory, the sudden movement of the Lagoon causes him to trip and fall head first into a wall, knocking himself unconscious, the MP5A3 falling harmlessly out of his hands.

The Lagoon barrels toward the group of six widely spaced out attack boats. Automatic fire from the two closest boats, sounding like Kalashnikovs, rings out, a few bullets peppering the Lagoon. Inside the captain's deck, Dutch grabs his Remington 870 Marine Magnum shotgun, which was previously lying next to him, with his right hand and the M79 grenade launcher with his left. "You know what to do, right Benny Boy?" Dutch says as he pushes the crate of grenades with his foot. "I got it boss, got the controls down," Benny answers, taking Dutch's seat at the helm. "Good Benny boy. Sit tight, time to make our paychecks," Dutch comments, yanking his shotgun with one hand to cock it. Dutch steps out to the deck of the Lagoon, kicking forward the box of 40mm grenades and carrying the two weapons. "Revy! Catch!" Dutch says, tossing the M79 toward Revy, who drops the Cutlass in her left hand in order to catch it. Revy then stuffs her Cutlasses into her tracksuit pockets. Dutch brings the crate of 40mm grenades to Revy as she pops the grenade feed open. Grabbing one of the 40mm grenades, she pops it in and closes the feed, remarking "Where the fuck is Rock?" Dutch shakes his head and says "I don't know, maybe he pissed himself and bunkered down. Probably for the best." Revy does not respond to Dutch's comments, mildly worried about Rock. One of the attack boats approaches from the starboard side, revealing itself to be a motorized fishing boat. The sides of the boat show 'Six To Six' in vibrant colors, with three gunmen dressed in bandanas, sleeveless shirts, and shorts. The intensity of AK-47 fire keeps Dutch and Revy crouched on the ground.

"When you hear a pause in the fire, I'll suppress them with the Remington. Time your shot well Revy, I don't want to get shot in the balls!" Dutch orders, crouching on the deck with his shotgun at hand. The intensity of the shooting dies down as two of the three pirates pause to reload. "NOW!" Dutch yells out, opening fire on the attack boat that is barely 30 meters away. Dutch braves the barrage of AK-47 fire and gets off four rapid fire 12 gauge buckshot rounds, striking one of the pirates in the hand, as Revy centers the M79 and pulls the trigger. The 40mm grenade strikes almost dead center of the pirate boat, blowing it to pieces and killing all onboard. "One down, five to go," Revy comments, loading a second 40mm grenade into the M79. "Good thing I had these guard rails installed," Dutch comments, staring at the bullet holes that pepper the Lagoon.

At the helm, Benny fumbles through the controls, turning the Lagoon on an interception course for the next pirate boat. Revy and Dutch brace themselves by holding onto the railing as the 2nd pirate boat closes in. The boat is a carbon copy of the previous boat, except the pattern on the boat says 'Vipers' and shows the design of a green and red snake. The pirates on the fishing boat open fire, two of them shooting from AK-47s, one of them firing a double-barreled shotgun. "Same as before Revy!" Dutch hollers, shotgun at the ready. The two repeat the same strategy, waiting for the automatic fire to pause. Dutch jumps to his feet, tilts his shotgun sideways again, and opens fire, getting off four more shots before going empty. Two pellets from the buckshot strike an AK-47 wielding pirate in the chest, knocking him overboard. Revy centers the M79 once again and pulls the trigger, this time hitting the port side of the pirate boat. The blast splinters the boat into pieces, killing the two that remained onboard as the previously shot man sinks into the ocean, drowning.

"Alright Benny boy, serve us the next one!" Dutch yells, not expecting Benny to hear him. Revy loads another 40mm grenade into the M79 and Dutch picks out individual 12 gauge rounds from a pocket on his flak jacket. Dutch meticulously loads 8 rounds into his Remington 870. Suddenly, the next pirate boat bypasses the Lagoon and heads straight for the Glass King. Benny spots this and immediately turns the boat toward the pirate ship, without warning. "Shit!" Revy curses as she and Dutch hang on to the railing. The crate of 40mm grenades slides backwards, before tipping over and spilling its contents all over the deck. "Motherfucker!" Dutch yells out as Revy dives forward, vainly trying to pick up 40mm grenades. The avalanche of explosives rolls through the guard railing and into the Arafura Sea. Sliding down the Lagoon, she barely catches the crate, only to find it empty, with all the 40mm shells sinking into the sea. "Fucking shit! Rock where the fuck are you!" Revy violently yells. "Forget the grenades, Revy! We'll sink this next ship and handle the other three manually!" Dutch yells back, aiming his Remington at the pirate boat, which the Lagoon is catching up to. Watching the pirate boat come closer into view, the ship decorated in graffiti, Dutch lines his shotgun at the most concentrated mass of pirates on the boat. Soon, Dutch could make out individual figures on the boat, counting five pirates. He pulls the trigger, firing two shots into the boat, wounding two of the pirates, one in the left hand, the other in the right shoulder. The five pirates turn their attention toward the Lagoon and open fire from their assortment of AK-47s, Lee Enfield rifles, and double barreled shotguns. Realizing that Dutch will not be able to suppress them with just a shotgun, Revy hurriedly aims the M79 and pulls the trigger. The 40mm grenades whizzes through the Pacific air and lands in the water, meters to the left of the pirate boat. "Fucking Christ motherfuckers!" Revy curses, dropping the M79 onto the deck and drawing her two Cutlasses from the pockets of her tracksuit. The pirate boat closes in on the Lagoon, getting within meters of the torpedo boat. The fire from the pirates force Revy and Dutch to back away to the side, as one of the pirates tosses a grappling hook onto the Lagoon, snaring the guard rail. As the hook snares the guard rail, a fourth pirate boat attacks from the starboard side, showering the Lagoon with bullets. "Fuck! Revy, you got starboard, I got port!" Dutch yells, crouched, loading two 12 gauge rounds into his Remington. Revy, crouching under the gunfire, moves toward the starboard side.

Both pirate ships empty their bullets at the Lagoon, as the 4th pirate ship tosses a grappling hook of its own. Obscured to Dutch, the pirates hold on to the edges of the deck of the Lagoon, maneuvering themselves away from the grappling hook so as to attack from two angles. Two of the pirates pull themselves onto the Lagoon guard rail, both appearing to be Papuan men in their late 20s, wearing grey shirts and beige shorts. Dutch empties two buckshot rounds into the Papuan pirate on the right, spraying blood and tissue onto the water and sending his corpse into the Arafura Sea, as the other pirate jumps over the guard rail with a machete in hand. As the pirate swings his machete down at Dutch, Dutch blocks the blade with his shotgun, causing the machete to scratch along the barrel. Utilizing his size advantage, Dutch uses his shotgun to shove the pirate to the ground. He aims his shotgun at the pirate's head and pulls the trigger at nearly point blank range, literally blowing the pirate's head into pieces. The deck of the Lagoon turns awash in blood and brain matter as a third pirate climbs onto the Lagoon with a makeshift revolver. Dutch quickly turns his shotgun toward the pirate, only to receive a bullet into his left arm. The pirate misses the second shot as Dutch awkwardly fires his Remington with just his right hand, shredding the pirate's left leg into a bloody mess. The pirate yells out in pain and falls on his left shoulder. "Goddamn it!" Dutch yells in pain as he empties two buckshot rounds into the pirate's chest, putting him out of his misery. A fourth pirate, bald and wearing a bandana on his head, bleeding from his left hand, jumps onto the Lagoon with an AK-47 in hand, climbing in near the back, a few meters away from Dutch. As the pirate begins to spray his Kalashnikov, Dutch desperately fires two buckshot rounds, a few of the pellets striking the man in the gut. The pirate staggers and ducks behind the rear of the Lagoon. "Revy, watch your back, you got one rounding the rear!" Dutch yells out, groaning in pain. Revy jerks her head to her right and spots the shine of a rifle barrel gleam under the setting sun. She aims the Cutlass in her right hand and fires three shots into the chest of the pirate, who drops his AK-47, takes two sidesteps to the right, and collapses on his right shoulder. As Revy takes a closer look, she recognizes the dead pirate as Ferguson Kent. "Fuck, looks like the Raskolz shadowed us," Revy curses under her breathe, as on the other side of the Lagoon, Dutch loads two rounds into his Remington, heaves himself to his feet, approaches the guard rail, and aims his shotgun at the wailing, wounded pirate laying in his fishing boat. The pirate spots Dutch and desperately reaches for his AK-47. The butt stock of the Kalashnikov is mere inches from the pirate's grasp as Dutch centers his aim and empties two 12 gauge rounds into the pirate's chest and legs, finishing off the 3rd boat.

"3rd boat is cleared, but I took a bullet! Focus on your side!" Dutch yells across the Lagoon. "Got it, Dutch!" Revy yells back, kicking Ferguson's AK-47 closer to the center of the Lagoon. She leans her back on the walls of the Lagoon, stretching her Cutlasses out to cover both ends of the ship. "Damn it…fucking damn it!" Revy grinds her teeth, anticipating an assault from every angle. ' _Rock, I could use something fucking automatic and in 9mm ammunition here!"_ Revy thinks to herself. Three Raskolz pull themselves onto the guard rail. Revy aims her left Cutlass at the one on the far left and her right Cutlass at the one on the far right, and pulls each trigger four times. The pirate on the left receives a shot into his left rib and a shot into his stomach, losing his grip, falling, and slamming his chin on the edge of the Lagoon. The pirate loses consciousness as he drowns. The pirate on the right is shot as he jumps over the guard rail, receiving a bullet into his right ankle and two bullets into the right side of his ass. The pirate in the middle jumps on board with a glistening black machete in hand. Revy concentrates both her Cutlasses on the machete wielding Raskol, firing four shots, two from each Cutlass, striking him in the stomach, gut, and right lung. The machete wielding pirate staggers, spitting blood, and swings his machete at Revy, blood dripping as he charges. Revy ducks underneath and to the left of the machete and fires a bullet into the man's neck. The pirate slips forward and awkwardly falls face first on the deck, dead almost immediately after he hits the sun-blasted metal of the deck. The pirate that was shot in the ass crawls to face Revy, drawing a Smith & Wesson Model 439 pistol. Revy, still lying prone on the deck, quickly reacts by shooting three bullets at the wounded pirate, the first bullet striking the pirate in his left knee, the second missing, and the third punching a hole through his nose, killing him. The pirate's hand twitches and fires a shot as he expires, the bullet harmlessly missing Revy by a foot over her head, striking the center of the Lagoon.

Panting, Revy holsters her Cutlasses and grabs the nearby AK-47. She checks the clip to see that it is half full, reinserts the clip, and aims the AK-47 at the pirate boat. Revy suddenly spots a pirate hanging on the deck right underneath her, as well as a pirate on the pirate boat preparing to climb the grappling rope. She fires a burst of four shots into the pirate that's holding the rope, all four bullets striking him in the chest, left arm, and groin region, killing him, as the remaining Raskol grabs the barrel of the AK-47 and pulls Revy off the Lagoon and onto the pirate ship. Revy falls back first onto the pirate ship, grunting from the fall, AK-47 still in her hands. She watches the pirate hang on to the rail with his left hand and draw a Ruger P90 with his right. Before the Raskol could open fire, Revy fires seven bullets at the Raskol, two of the bullets hitting his left thigh, three missing completely, one hitting his midsection, and the seventh gashing his heart and killing him. The pirate falls toward the water, his dead arms slamming against the pirate boat before the corpse completely submerges into the water. "4th boat is now fucked, Dutch!" Revy yells, getting to her feet.

As Revy prepares to climb back onto the Lagoon, she spots the 5th pirate boat, a larger fishing boat with what appears to be seven pirates on board. The sides of the boat are painted green, yellow, red, and white, showing the logo for 'South Pacific Export Lager'. The 5th pirate boat heads directly for the rear of the Lagoon, its occupants opening fire at the torpedo boat. Revy tosses the AK-47 onto the Lagoon and climbs the rope toward the edge of the Lagoon, pulling herself back onto the deck. Grabbing the Kalashnikov, Revy runs toward the rear of the Lagoon and empties the last few shots of the rifle, one of the bullets chipping through the boat and gashing a pirate in his right leg. Hearing the empty clicks of the Kalashnikov, Revy draws her Cutlasses and empties the remainder of her two clips into the pirate boat, concentrating on the centered mass in the middle of the boat. From the barrage of bullets, five of them actually strike their targets, four bullets striking the wounded pirate in the chest, left shoulder, and right ear, killing him, while the fifth bullet gashing a pirate right below his right ribs.

Revy ejects the ammo clips and reaches for her back pocket, taking out a spare clip with a full magazine. "Fuck, only one magazine left," Revy curses. She pours seven of the bullets out of the ammo clip, painstakingly inserts them into one of the recently ejected ammo clips, and shoves the two magazines into her two Cutlasses, pulling back the slides of each pistol using her palms. Anticipating the oncoming battle, Revy sits down, her Cutlasses aimed at the rear, bullets whizzing over her head. "You got your part of the rear covered, aye Dutch?" Revy hollers out, to which Dutch responds by firing his Remington once into the air. "I'll take that shit as a yes!" Revy hollers in response. Suddenly, she hears the sound of people diving into the water, the sound of people swimming. "FUCK! They are trying to flank us from the sides!" Revy yells. She stands up to take a glance at the water, but quickly ducks as bullets fly above her head. "Shit, shit, shit!" Revy curses, her head tilting left and right like an iguana. She considers retreating to the Lagoon armory, but is reminded of Dutch's wounded condition.  _'6 fuckers, fifteen bullets…and there's a 6th_ _boat on the way too,'_ Revy thinks to herself  _'Fuck, Rock I need some fucking ammo over here, so get your fucking ass over here!'_  Two pirates jump onto the guard rail from the back of the Lagoon, AK-47s in hand. Panicking, Revy unloads on the two pirates, firing five of the last seven bullets in her left Cutlass and four of the last eight bullets in her right Cutlass. The two pirates are cut down before they could open fire, the one on the left receiving two bullets into the groin and waist and a fatal bullet into his neck. The one the right receives a hole in his right knee cap, followed by a bullet cutting through his left lung, incapacitating the pirate as he coughs up blood and slowly bleeds to death.

As Revy heaves a sigh, two Raskolz jump over the guard rail behind her, one of the pirates carrying an AK-47, the other carrying an AR-18. Revy jerks her body back and empties all of her remaining bullets. Three of the bullets strike the AR-18 carrying pirate on the right, once in his chest, once in his left shoulder, and final fatal shot drilling slightly to the right of the center of his forehead. As pirate on the right drops dead onto the deck, the other pirate staggers backwards, having been shot once in his left ribs. "BITCH!" the Raskol yells as he prepares to drill Revy full of holes, when suddenly the barrel of an MP5A3 is driven into his neck, as Rock shoves the pirate over the guard rail and into the waters. "Rock! Where the fuck you been?" Revy curses, partially angry, partially relieved. "Catch," Rock responds as Revy conceals her Cutlasses, tossing the submachine gun. As Revy catches the MP5A3 and gets to her feet, Rock answers "The ship suddenly moved and I slipped into a wall. How long was I out?" Revy walks toward the guard rail and aims her MP5A3 at the pirate that Rock just knocked overboard, the man holding on to the 4th pirate boat. She empties several shots into the Raskol, turning the bluish green sea a crimson red, and answers "I wasn't keeping time. We're on to the last two boats, but Dutch got shot, still alive though…FUCK!" Revy suddenly remembers about Dutch and says "We got two more assholes left and I think they are attacking on the other side of the ship! Help him out! I'm covering the starboard in case the last two fuckers come around to this side!"

Rock runs to the Port side, turning across the bow of the Lagoon, Uzi in his shoulder holster and M9 under the back of his dress shirt. As turns the corner, the butt of a Remington 870 Marine Magnum strikes him across the face, breaking Rock's nose. "Rock, what the hell?" Dutch yells, the wound in his left arm causing the blood to reach his fingers. "Argh! That was almost the second time you knocked me unconscious today!" Rock yells back, lying on his back, holding his nose with his left hand. "The fuck are you talking about?" Dutch asks, annoyed, tilting his head back and forth for signs of the Raskolz. "I bumped my head against the wall when the boat suddenly turned…argh now two points on my head are in pain," Rock groans. "Well Rock, I'd offer you an apology and my condolences but I am bleeding from my fucking arm and these assholes are playing Rambo right now!" Dutch responds, when he suddenly notices Rock's Uzi. "At least you brought something I could shoot with one hand," Dutch says as he drops his shotgun and pulls Rock's Uzi from his shoulder strap, pulling the slide back with his right hand, using the guard rail.

Suddenly, a shirtless Raskol in soaked, brown, shorts climbs over the guard rail by the bow, Walter P38 in hand. "Heads down!" Dutch yells, crouching in front of Rock in order to shield him, aiming Rock's Uzi at the pirate. The pirate fires first, one of his shots slightly grazing Dutch's left leg, leaving a cut right below his kneecap. Dutch gives a wince and pulls the trigger. A burst of fourteen bullets flies at the pirate, nine of the bullets striking the pirate, turning him into in Swiss cheese. The pirate drops his Walter P38, staggers back a step, and collapses on his back, dead. Dutch heaves a sigh of relief and stares at the dead pirate, yelling "Revy, Rock's with me! He's alright and I think the fifth boat is cleared. As Revy turns toward the bow, intending to turn around the bow and regroup with Dutch and Rock, the last pirate of the 5th boat climbs over the guard rail at the rear of the Lagoon, undetected. The last Raskol, bleeding from a scratched waist, having been shot as the boat approached the Lagoon, unsheathes a machete and charges at Dutch. Revy turns to face Dutch with a look of relief in her eyes, only to have that face turn stern as she yells "Fucker behind you!"

The Raskol, wearing sunglasses and sporting a tattoo on his neck that says '6 2 6', jerks his machete back, preparing the drive it down Dutch's neck when given the chance. As Dutch turns around and prepares to unload the Uzi on Tuksy Morea, two shots ring out, striking Tuksy in the gut and midsection. Tuksy falls forward, dropping his machete. As he lands on his right shoulder, face to face with Rock and Rock's M9, Tuksy's sunglasses fall off, bouncing on the deck. Tuksy breathes heavily as the shock from getting shot registers in his brain. Rock emotionlessly pulls the M9 to Tuksy's forehead, the barrel mere centimeters away, and pulls the trigger, blowing Tuksy's brains out. A few blood drops spray onto Rock's forehead, nose, and left cheek, as the Raskol slumps back, dead.

"What…the hell…just happened?" Dutch mutters, paralyzed with shock from what just transpired before his eyes. Coldly staring at Dutch, Rock gets on his feet and holsters his M9. He opens his right hand and extends his right arm outward, saying "I shot Luca." The shock from what Dutch is hearing and seeing reduces the pain in his left arm to a mere annoyance. Dutch stares at the opened palm of Rock's right hand, then at Rock's Uzi holster, then at the Uzi that Dutch is holding, and asks "So…this is yours?" Rock jerks the Uzi out of Dutch's hand and squeezes tightly on the grip of the Uzi "Yes Dutch, it's mine. And for the record, Songxie was not angry that I wasn't carrying. He was angry that I was, 'was', slow on the draw."

Rock, Revy, and Dutch all stare at each other in numb silence when the final attack boat charges toward the Lagoon. However, several meters west of the Lagoon, Songxie's boat joins the battle. "It's about time that Songxie got off his ass!" Revy yells. More than a dozen henchman open fire, using Howa Type 64s, AR-10s, M14s, and Minebea PM-9s, spraying bullets around the pirate boat and the six men on that boat. A few lucky shots hit the boat, and one bullet wounds a pirate in his left shoulder. On the boat, Norman Sowera signals his men to retreat back to the main pirate boat, seeing this battle as a lost cause. As a final gesture before retreating, he takes a few pot shots at the Lagoon from his AK-47, a couple bullets hitting the hull. The last attack boat turns around and departs from battle, as Sowera fires indiscriminate shots into the air and at the Lagoon.

"Phew, at least that shit is over," Dutch comments, surveying the damage on the Lagoon. "At least we can tow these three pirate boats with us, sell them for scrap, plus pick their wallets, sell their guns, could probably make a few thousand dollars. Should be enough to cover the damages and those 40mm grenades," Dutch adds, wincing in pain from the bullet lodged in his arm. "Revy, Rock, go clean up the bodies and scavenge what you can, I'm going to attend to this piece of lead in my arm," Dutch concludes heading into the interior of the Lagoon.

Rock and Revy silently stare at each other, each holding their respective submachine guns. Revy surveys Rock's face and says "You…got some blood on your face." Rock holsters his Uzi and replies with "Yeah…I know…I'll go clean myself up first. Then I'll help with the rest of the cleanup." Revy notices the tone in Rock's voice and asks "You going to be okay?" Rock nods once, looks down at Tuksy's corpse, Tuksy's face covered in blood, and says "Yeah…yes."

Rock heads into the Lagoon and slowly walks into the bathroom. He urinates into the toilet bowl, flushes, and then turns toward the sink. Turning on the facet, Rock runs his hands through the cold water, slowly running his hands through the fountain. He starts breathing heavily, his heart racing as he struggles to breathe. Rock dares himself to look into the mirror, to look at the foreign blood drops on his head and the blood running out of his broken nose. His hands shake as he washes his face, the sink water turning pink with blood. Looking back up, he watches as his imagination turn his reflection into a beaten, smiling Yukio Washimine, as his brain whispers ' _What you are capable of is EXACTLY what you will do'_  in the voice of Luca Cavalcanti. Rock's shortness of breath turns into boiling rage as he violently grabs onto the sink. He wants to scream, to shatter the mirror with his fist, to crush the sink with his hands. A feeling of sickness rises as Rock fights the urge to vomit. Suddenly he hears a knock on the bathroom door. "You okay there, Rock? When you coming out?" Revy says, sounding concerned. Rock restrains himself, wipes his face and his bloody nose with a towel, and responds "I'm…fine, heading out right now."


	4. Uneven Hair

"Mahalo (thank you), we'll take it from here," a slightly chubby Hawaiian man with a goatee and long black hair says to Dutch, carefully pushing a dolly cart and a few boxes of what sounds like lab equipment. At port in Roanapur, Takahashi yells out "James Apuna! Be careful with those crates, they are very fragile!" Approaching Dutch, Rock, who has a bandage covering the bridge of his nose, Revy, and Benny, Takahashi speaks out "Excellent work, Lagoon Company. None of the equipment onboard was damaged, pirate threat was mitigated, well done, well done! Here, $3000 dollars, American, all in 20s." Takahashi hands over to Dutch a fat orange envelope full of what Dutch assumes to be $20 bills. "And the cost of fuel?" Dutch adds, pulling the stacks of 20s out of the envelope, $500 in each stack. Around Dutch's left arm, a roll of medical tape covers his bullet wound. Takahashi answers "I already have the receipts. Give me a day to get settled in and I will pay you the full amount, as promised." Dutch nods and hands a stack to Benny, Rock, and Revy. He then pockets one of the stacks and asks Takahashi "Got change for a 20? Two 20s, actually, preferably $10 bills." Takahashi fishes out four $10 bills and exchanges them for 2 $20 bills that Dutch pulled from the last two stacks. Dutch then splits the two stacks up into four individual $250 stacks, pockets one of them, and hands out one each to Benny, Rock, and Revy.

After paying his employees, Dutch turns to Takahashi and asks "What the hell happened with Songxie's boat? I was assured that your business partner would reinforce our asses in case we came under fire." Takahashi turns away from Dutch, watching his men unload goods and equipment off the Glass King and Songxie's vessel and onto white unmarked trucks. Shaking his head, Takahashi answers "My business partner unfortunately…had a bit much to drink and was passed out when those pirates attacked. After attempts to wake him up had failed, Songxie's men took charge of the situation and joined the battle. My apologies for my partner's behavior, but I am not responsible for his actions. If you wish to seek damages for that wound in your arm or the damage on your ship, speak with him, but I am not involved in that."

"I understand, Mr. Takahashi, I appreciate your honesty. If you would require transport work or other miscellaneous work to be done, you have our number," Dutch responds, extending his right hand. Takahashi smiles and shakes Dutch's hands, remarking "Thank you for your business." After concluding their handshake, Takahashi turns his attention to the logistics of transporting his cargo, as Dutch, Revy, Rock, and Benny turn toward the sidewalk outside the port.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, Dutch speaks out "Benny boy and I are going to meet with people, concerning the guns and boats we scavenged from the dead Raskolz. You are free to tag along or do whatever you want. We'll be at the Yellow Flag at 10:30 P.M." Rock turns to Dutch and responds "I appreciate the offer but I kind of want to grab something for lunch." Revy, not taken in to the idea of listening to Dutch argue pennies with some black market fence, adds "I second that shit too. We'll catch you two at the Yellow Flag." Dutch says "Suit yourselves," and heads off with Benny to one direction on the sidewalk, as Rock and Revy head off in the opposite direction.

Approaching the studio that Black Lagoon Company resides in, Revy and Rock walk toward the garage behind the building. Revy turns a knob, opens a door, and heads into a maintenance closet, reaching for a switch. Flipping the switch to the garage door, Revy enters the garage and fishes out a set of keys from her tracksuit pants pockets. As Revy steps into the driver seat, Rock stands in front of the switch and waits for Revy to leave the garage. After Revy exits the garage, Rock flips the switch again and closes the garage, then exits the maintenance closet, slamming the door on his way out. Seating himself in the front side passenger seat, Rock closes the car door and comments "Dutch should seriously get into the habit of locking that closet door." Revy shrugs her shoulders and presses on the gas pedal, driving out of the driveway.

"Left your Uzi back on the boat?" Revy asks, commenting on how Rock is without his Uzi and his shoulder strap. "I figured that carrying that thing around would just bring too much attention, so I'll stick to my concealed M9. Hopefully I won't need my M9 anyway," Rock answers, touching the bandage on his nose. "So…" Revy says, bringing the car onto the Roanapur streets "what you in the mood for? Chinese? Thai? Italian?" Rock chuckles and answers "I'm not really that hungry. I just didn't want to watch Dutch haggle with people that barely understand what he is saying." Revy smiles to herself and replies "Same here". She turns on the radio, which immediately cuts into the beginning of "Proud Mary" by Clearwater Creedence Revival.

The radio plays, sounding through the car. "Want to visit the shooting range?" Revy asks.

Rock arcs his head back, reaches for a pack of Blue Natural American Spirit, and pulls out a cigarette. "Sure, let's go," Rock answers, lighting the cigarette with a lighter. He rolls down the passenger window and takes a drag, letting the embers burn through the tip of the cigarette. The Town Car takes a left turn, cutting into a commercial street full of shops and cheap restaurants. "Can you light me one?" Revy asks Rock, eyes on the road. Rock pulls out a second cigarette and places it in the right corner of Revy's mouth. He then turns his lighter on and lights Revy's cigarette, Revy taking a drag on it with both hands on the wheel. "Thanks," Revy adds, adjusting the cigarette into her right hand, as Rock puts his lighter away.

"Proud Mary" ends, to be replaced with "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. "I'm thinking of keeping this tracksuit style for now on," Revy blurts out. The radio continues to play. "What you think of it?" Revy asks Rock.

Rock rests his head on the partially opened window and turns his face toward Revy. Smiling, he answers "I like it, it looks good on you." Revy smiles and responds "Thanks, wanted something warmer. Thai winter is still breezy close to the coast."

Rock and Revy hum to the tune at the same time.

"Sha, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, te da…LA TE DA!" Rock and Revy sing out, bursting out into snickering laughter. They gaze into each other, taking advantage of a red light to soak themselves into each other, enjoying the music and the comfortable pause in their conversation. They both take a drag of their Natural Spirit cigarettes, staring at each other as they exhale. Suddenly the sound of honking breaks Revy's and Rock's concentration. Seeing that the light has turned green, Revy sticks her middle finger out of her window and presses hard on the gas pedal. Barreling through various shops, restaurants, and curb-side kiosks, the Town Car passes Praiyachat's gun shop.

"I thought we were going to Praiyachat's shop?" Rock asks, confused. Revy stretches her neck muscles, mid-drive, and answers "We're going someplace different. Someplace outdoors. We'll be there in 'round 5 minutes." Rock smiles and slightly nods to himself, saying "Interesting."

Waiting at a red light, Rock stares out of his window, watching a man in a suit grab an Indian souvenir vender by the Indian's shirt collar. The man, who on closer identification is revealed to be Manisarera Cartel second-in-command Gustavo Cruz, slams the Indian man head first onto the souvenir stand table. Gustavo then grabs a snow globe of Bangkok with a 15 baht price tag and proceeds to smack the Indian man in the back of his head with the snow globe, all while swearing in Spanish. "Looks like a shakedown or a debt collection," Revy comments, observing the action as well. As the red light turns green, Gustavo pulls the Indian man back on his feet and knees the Indian man in the groin, sending him reeling to the sidewalk. The Town Car speeds away before Revy and Rock could witness the conclusion of this beat down.

The radio cuts from the music to an announcement from the DJ. The DJ, speaking in a Seattle accent, announces  _"DJ Stevie Expat over here, reminding you that we are bringing the best rock of the 60s and 70s to your ear drums. Today is December 20, 1997, and staring out of my window, this beautiful city of Bangkok doesn't disappoint us as it and the rest of northern Thailand continues to rain all day. Interesting news for today…let's see here…oh yes, I remember. James Cameron's film 'Titanic' has hit American theaters yesterday and as the ticket sales are coming in, the numbers are just eye-popping incredible. The romantic disaster flick, starring rising star Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, is already on pace to break, and when I mean break, I mean SHATTER, the record for highest grossing Hollywood film. So for that, DJ Stevie gives two thumbs up of his own to James Cameron, good work! As for related news, we are leaving the popcorn scent of the big screens to the realm of television, as strange reports from Japan are coming in about a cartoon that literally gave kids seizures."_ Rock raises an eyebrow and turns his full attention toward the radio.

" _What Japanese authorities have called 'Pokémon Shokku', or Pokémon Shock for us English viewers, the apparently popular animated cartoon 'Pokémon' was broadcasted with an episode that, for some reason, the special effects in that episode caused several people, mostly little children, to suffer seizures. The cartoon, based off the extremely popular video games, which revolve around a little boy capturing wild animals in balls and raising them to fight other wild animals, featured a scene where an intense series of flashes appeared. What followed were more than 600 kids being taken by ambulance to the hospital, of them, at least a hundred were admitted. The television station that aired the show has apologized and the cartoon has been suspended, but the damage seems to have settled in. You know, I have heard some crazy news before, but a cartoon causing seizures? That's a new one…"_

"Who fuck would think that adding strobe lights would be a good fucking idea?" Revy asks, raising her eyebrow in response to the news broadcast. Rock shrugs his shoulders and says "Someone who is possibly going to be unemployed." Revy nods and says "Yeah, that."

Driving close to the coast, Revy parks the Town Car near a pier. At the end of the pier, a washed-out dome-like building sits above the water. A black and gold sign on the dome says "Sanjay Trap Shooting" in gold lettering. A seagull rests on the sign, only to be scared off from the sound of gunfire, as a clay plate is shattered in mid-air. "Last time I was here, it was $6 for 3 plates, $20 for a dozen. That includes the rent for the shotgun," Revy comments, exiting the car as Rock follows her lead. Locking the car door, Revy crosses the wooden bridge toward the pier as Rock follows suit. Near the entrance to the dome building, two Triad gangsters get off from their folding chairs and approach Rock and Revy. One of the Triad gangsters, dressed cargo shorts and a sky blue polo shirt, the sleeves short enough to reveal the gangster's tattoos, turns to Revy. The man, who is clean shaven, buzz cut, and wearing sunglasses, his cheeks puffy as his neck is almost non-existent, speaks out "If you don't know rules, it's simple. Any funny business here, you mess with me. You mess with me, you mess with Mister Chang. You don't want to mess with Mister Chang."

"Cool it, Chow Yun-Fat, Chang knows us," Revy wisecracks at the Triad gangster. The Triad gangster glares with a look of annoyance at Revy, but upon registering in his head that the people before him are acquainted with Chang, subdues his anger. "Head in," the Triad gangster says, motioning with his hands. Rock and Revy walk past the Triad gangsters and walk around the exterior of the dome building.

On the opposite side of the dome, a Thai couple stands behind a railing, each holding onto a Remington 1100. Behind them, near the rear entrance to the dome, a Bengali Indian sits on a lawn chair, drinking from a plastic bottle. The man, appearing to be in his late 50's, wears a small, beige cotton shirt and cargo shorts so short that Revy and Rock could see his kneecaps. Wearing black sandals, he adjusts the strap of the sandal on his right foot. The man is balding, with some hair on the sides of his head starting to turn grey, and he has an extremely thick moustache that covers the top half of his mouth. The man wears rectangular sunglasses that have a grey frame, and has a gold chain hanging around his neck. The Indian man spots Revy and waves his hand, motioning her over.

"Revy! It's been a while. Here to play a few rounds?" the Indian man asks, before turning toward Rock and saying "Hello, don't think I met you before." Revy speaks out "Rock, this is Sanjay, Sanjay Chakraborti. He's the owner and manager of this place. Sanjay, this is Rokuro Okajima, though everyone calls him Rock. He's my partner on the Lagoon." Rock extends his hand towards Sanjay, who also extends his hand. "Phraawm! (Ready)" the woman yells in Thai. A clay disk is launched from the dome as the Thai woman fires a shot off, shattering the disk. As the two shake hands, Rock notices the bony texture of the man's palm and realizes that the man is rather skinny. Sanjay smiles, revealing a few missing teeth and some brown stains on his remaining teeth, the stains appearing to have come from the bottle of Coca-Cola resting at his feet. "You must be the guy that Revy mentioned before, the Japanese man that never fired a gun. Sorry but I don't have any bows and arrows," Sanjay chuckles to himself, as a second disk is launched and the Thai woman opens fire, missing the disk as the disk falls into the Gulf of Thailand.

"That would be okay Sanjay, I will take the same shotgun that Revy will use," Rock calmly says to the Indian owner. A third disk is launched and the Thai woman takes aim, tracking it with her sights for a few seconds before firing a shot, shattering it. The Thai woman calmly smiles and pumps her fist in the air, appearing to have won, as the couple walk to the interior of the dome. "You two there! I'll just take those off your hands," Sanjay says to the couple, getting up from his chair, carefully taking the woman's shotgun and handing it to Revy. He then takes the man's shotgun, handing that one to Rock. "Prices are the same as last time," Sanjay says to Revy, who fishes out a $20 bill. Rock follows suit as the two hand over $40 to Sanjay. "I'll be back with ammunition," Sanjay concludes, following the Thai couple into the dome, $40 in his right hand.

Rock surveys the Remington 1100, finding it somewhat heavy to hold. He practices aiming the shotgun, the butt stock planted near his elbow. "Pick it higher up, closer to your shoulder," Revy lectures, before setting her Remington 1100 down and coming to Rock's aid. Getting behind him, she adjusts the shotgun on his person to a more comfortable firing position, to which Rock responds with "Thanks, Revy." "No problem," Revy says, picking her shotgun back up.

"Those guns are out of ammo," Sanjay says, carrying small boxes of ammunition "They can hold six rounds each, so you two only have to reload twice." Sanjay sets two boxes of ammo by Rock's and Revy's feet, one box for each person. "Birdshot, right?" Revy asks. Sanjay nods and says "Only shot we use here." Rock asks Revy "What is birdshot?" Revy proceeds to feed 12 gauge rounds into her shotgun, saying "There are largely two main types of lethal shotgun rounds classified by the actual shot, buckshot and birdshot. Shots are those little fucking pellets that burst out of the shotgun shell and tear your insides apart. Buckshot uses more or less 8 or 9 shots in a shell, larger pellets that are almost a centimeter long. Birdshot uses dozens or sometimes hundreds of tiny pellets that are the size of bread crumbs. For trap shooting and skeet shooting, you want a shit load of pellets, since no fucker is hitting a flying disk with only 9 pellets in a shell." Rock nods in understand, coping Revy's movements in loading the shotgun with 12 gauge rounds.

"Alright, you each get 12 disks. Take turns or just have a free for all, your choice," Sanjay says. Revy turns to Rock and says "Want to do 6 disks at a time?" Rock thinks for a second and says "Sure. Want to go first?" Revy nods and yells "Send them fuckers out!"

The first clay disk flies out as Revy center's her eyes on the sights. Tracking it, she opens fire and shatters it. "Again!" Revy yells as a 2nd disk is launched, only to be destroyed. The process is repeated, with the 3rd disk sailing by undamaged, the fourth and fifth disks destroyed, and the sixth disk sailing by undamaged. Setting the shotgun down, Revy turns to Rock and says "Shaking off the rust. Your turn." Rock nods, readies his shotgun, and yells "Go!"

As the first disk is launched, Rock centers his aim, adjusting himself to the weight of the shotgun. He fires, shattering the disk and wincing in pain as the shotgun kicks into his right shoulder. "What's the matter Rock? Too much gun for you?" Revy teases, only to grow more serious as Rock turns to face her. He has a look of slight embarrassment and anger as he readies shotgun again. "One more!" Rock blurts out, groaning from pain as the 2nd disk sails away. He fires and misses, wincing in pain but holding his composure. "Again!" Rock yells, missing the 3rd disk as the pain in his shoulder intensifies. He calls for a fourth disk and misses it again, wincing less from the pain. Channeling his pain into anger, Rock yells "NEXT ONE!" and spits out saliva while yelling. The disk flies away as Rock centers his aim and shatters it. "AGAIN!" Rock hollers out, even louder than before, as the sixth disk is launched. Again, Rock channels his pain into rage, and again, he shatters the disk.

"You okay there?" Sanjay asks "The Remington 1100 was designed with less kick, so it could have been worse." Sanjay's words only add salt to the wound as Rock replies "This was my first time firing a shotgun." Revy stares at Rock with a pained expression on her face and says "Want to call it a quits, Rock?" Rock glares at Revy and yells "No!" and then shakes his head, his left hand covering the pain on his right shoulder. "No…I am good," Rock says in a calmer tone. Revy stares at Rock for a few seconds, then looks down on the wooden ground, and then turns toward the horizon, preparing for the next 6 disks.

Attempting to break the awkward silence, Sanjay yells out as Revy shatters the 7th disk. "You heard about our former police chief? That fat guy, Chief Watap or something? He got transferred out of Roanapur and was given a desk job at Yala." Missing the 8th disk, Revy answers "Yeah, I heard." Sanjay leans forward, restraining his laughter "You heard the reason why?" Revy stares down toward the horizon and says "No, what happened?" Sanjay leans even closer and whispers toward Revy, who accidently fires a shot off as she bursts into laughter.

"You got to be fucking kidding me? He did what?" Revy yells, laughing hysterically to herself. "What happened?" Rock asks, confused. Still laughing, Revy turns to Rock and struggles to say "Some tourist videotaped him…" Revy tries to say something but could only get out "ch-choke worm." Extremely confused, Rock asks "He had a hookworm? Why would that cause him to get transferred?" Rock's comment made Revy laugh even more. She restrains herself and says "No, no. Someone caught him choking THE worm in his squad car! How fucking embarrassing is that?"

The pain in his shoulder subsides as his face wrinkles and his eyebrows rise in response to the ridiculousness of what Revy said. "Choking the worm?" Rock asks with an incredulous expression on his face. "Beating the meat, pumping the fist…you know?" Revy responds, still laughing. "I know what choking the worm means!" Rock yells out, shaking his head "I am just trying to wrap my head around the why aspect of it." Sanjay buts in and says "You can load another shell since that was clearly an accident, Revy. And as for why, I don't know, but I do know that the jokes and puns are going to be endless." As Revy loads an extra shell, Sanjay snickers and mutters "Roanapur cop, walking the beat…ahaha!"

All three of them laugh as Rock says "How…stupid could someone be?" Sanjay calms himself down and takes a swig of Coca-Cola from his bottle, saying "The mayor promoted someone new to take over, this young guy that was head of homicide division. The kid already promised to keep tourists safe, whether it be from bullets or…" Sanjay starts cracking up "overweight cheesemakers!"

Rock and Revy start laughing again, the laughter being medicine for the awkward tension that transpired just moments ago. Calming herself down, Revy readies her Remington and calls for the 9th disk. Her shot misses as the disk sails away, skipping on the water. As she prepares to call for the 10th disk, she turns to Rock, who is nursing his shoulder. A feeling of guilt and pity sets in as she calls for the 10th disk. Her shot is off target as the disk sails away. She repeats again for disks 11 and 12, missing both of them as her score suspiciously goes from 4 out of 6 to 5 out of 12.

Rock notices this and stares at Revy with a look of confusion. He sends a cold glare at Revy and then turns toward the horizon, calling for the disks. He shatters the next two, misses the one after, shatters one more, misses the 11th disk, and shatters the final disk, bringing his score to 6 out of 12. "Good game, Rock. You won," Revy says, calmly smiling at Rock, who coldly looks away from Revy and nods. "Is something the matter?" Revy asks, staring at Rock's right shoulder. Rock turns toward Revy and calmly says "Nothing…let's go." The two set their shotguns on the floor and thank Sanjay, who waves at the two and shouts "See ya!"

Stepping back into their Town Car, with Revy driving and Rock occupying the front side passenger seat, the two sit in awkward silence for a few seconds. Suddenly, to break the silence, Rock says "Want to get some Chinese? I know a dumpling house nearby." Revy thinks to herself, taking a deep breath, and says "Alright, tell me when to turn."

On the radio, the song "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC plays, as Revy cruises the Town Car through the street. "Take a left here, and then go straight. I'll tell you when to stop," Rock says, rubbing his shoulder.

"So, did you work for the Triads in NYC?" Rock asks, wishing to ease the awkwardness. Revy thinks to herself and then says "Funny thing is, nope. I lived in a homeless shelter while I tried to find work. I found some work at a smoke shop in Hell's Kitchen, sweeping floors, placing cigarette packs on racks, stuff like that. I worked for this guy named Jimmy Flaherty, who I later found out was an associate for the Lucchese mafia. Flaherty had no idea that I, a fifteen year old homeless Chinese teen, was carrying a gun, and nearly shat his pants when I scared off a robber that came at me in the shop with a switchblade. After that, he was impressed, and started getting me more involved in his end of a big cigarette smuggling racket. Like half of the smokes Flaherty was selling were smuggled from Canada. Flaherty trusted me with putting the forged stamping and labels on the cigarettes to make them appear legitimate. Later, Flaherty was using me as a 'bagwoman' and a courier, transporting the money he owes to the made guy he works for, as well as information that he preferred to not say over the phone. I remember this Lucchese mobster, Flaherty's boss, this guy named Louis 'Lou Bats' Battino, stared at me like I had three fucking heads when I first delivered money to him. Next day, Lou Bats approached Flaherty and told him to 'stop using underage chinks'. Flaherty convinced Lou Bats that neither the cops nor the rival families would expect someone like me to be running errands, and that if I was ever caught, Flaherty would always say that I stole the money from his register. Lou liked the concept of 'plausible deniability' and left me alone, which was good, since Flaherty was paying good money. Enough to help fund my little smoking habit, which Flaherty basically started."

"So that's what you did until you had to flee?" Rock asks, his full attention toward Revy. Revy nods and says "Pretty much. Right before those two cops spotted me, I received some pay from Lou Bats as a tip for bringing him some package from Flaherty. Good thing Lou Bats gave me that $10 bill, cause I used it to pay for a van ride out of New Jersey. I found this shady 'bus' line run by this Chinese guy, paid him $10 to sit in a crowded van, dosed off, and woke up a few minutes out of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was where I stayed for a few months before heading out of Pennsylvania, but that's another story."

Rock nods to himself and asks "So you got your start with one of the NYC mafia families. Interesting." Revy smirks to herself and says "Well, running errands wasn't my sole source of cash. I sometimes played stick-up with unlucky assholes, plus that smash and grab with that liquor store cash register. Looking back, between the fucked up shit that happened, I had some pretty okay times." Revy nods to herself, almost enjoying herself as she relives her past crimes. Rock keeps his eyes glues to the road, and then says "Right over there. Dalian Dumplings, the one with the green lettering."

Revy parks the car right in front of the restaurant, which appears to be a rather cheap looking dumpling house. Stepping inside, they are flanked on the left by a counter and the kitchen, with an assortment of bottled drinks clothed in ice right underneath the counter. To the right and across the restaurant, an assortment of tables forms a short column past the counter on the left and a long column by the wall on the right. The interior has an ornery grey atmosphere as pictures of different dumpling types dot the walls. Calm, melancholy Chinese music plays, giving the restaurant a sleepy, dull character. A Chinese woman in waitress attire grabs a pair of menus and motions Rock and Revy to follow her, while another Chinese woman in business attire slouches on the counter, appearing to be the owner.

Sitting down on a table by the right wall, Rock's back facing the entrance, the two pour over their menus. The menu is written in Chinese in red lettering, with small Thai and English translations underneath each item. "The six piece pork dumplings sound good…throw that in, plus a bottle of Schweppes Ginger Ale," Revy comments, closing her menu. Rock continues to ponder over his menu, surveying both sides of it. "So, funny shit with that police chief, Chief Watsup. How retarded did that fat fucker have to be… I mean Rowan has a club in town and all and…fuck it's funny just thinking about it," Revy comments, snickering to herself. "I am more interested in the man that's replacing the old chief of police, and that initiative he seems to be pushing through," Rock responds, peering through the back of the menu. "Yeah, that 'protect the tourist' shit he seems to be saying…sounds like a subtle little warning to Hotel Moscow," Revy comments, eying a waitress that runs toward the kitchen. "I was thinking the same thing, in light of recent episodes of torrential blood and bullets. Chief Watsup basically let the Triads, the Sicilians, Hotel Moscow, the Colombians, pretty much everyone go as they please, as long as he gets his bribe money. Of course, there was that time that he arrested us during our fight at the China Bowl," Rock says, looking into Revy's eyes. "Yeah, that," Revy comments, slowly nodding. "But when the Sicilian hierarchy was wiped out, Chief Watsup allowed Hotel Moscow to hang their dead bodies in public while he probably pocketed a special bonus. The obvious abuse in power must have annoyed the Thai government, and his squad car 'polishing' was the last straw. Seems like the new chief of police wants to, at the least, show an image of law and order, and keep all of these mob wars behind closed doors and off the streets," Rock concludes, looking over his menu a second time.

Revy nods once and stares at the kitchen, waiting for the waitress to arrive. "How's your shoulder doing?" Revy asks. "Fine," Rock coldly responds, eyes glued to the menu as a slight surge of anger rushes into his brain. "Yeah, maybe trap shooting was a bad idea," Revy comments, slouching on her chair. "I'm fine Revy, really. You don't have to worry about me. It's not like I never fired a gun before," Rock responds, deciding on what he wants to order. "Yeah, true, true," Revy says, still slouching "Good thing you're carrying now, though. Always worried that some asshole is going to corner you and your business tie, and all you have to fight back with is your smile and some bullshit words. That doesn't always work in every situation. Yeah, you showed me how to handle situations through talking, but sometimes brute fucking force is the only solution."

Rock glares at Revy coldly, saying "What's this about me being backed into a corner? You don't believe that I am capable of shooting first?" Revy laughs, which annoys Rock even further. "C'mon Rock…you're Rock for fucks sake. Of course not! Rocky baby, what the hell's gotten into you?" Revy asks, partially laughing to herself.

"Excuse me?" Rock coldly exclaims at Revy, visibly angry. Revy quickly faces Rock, a shocked expression on her face. The sound of bell chimes ring out as the entrance to the restaurant swings open. Suddenly, everyone near the counter ducks and cries out in fear, as a Glock 17 is waved in the air. "Đây là một vụ cướp!" (This is a robbery!) shouts a skinny, bald, bearded man in Vietnamese. The man, shirtless, waves his pistol at patrons, before point his gun at the cash register. "Looks like we got a hobo with a handgun…fuck, I think it's that same bum from before," Revy curses, keeping her head down as she reaches for a Cutlass. "Looks like Ho Chi Minh found himself a gun somewhere…I'll take care of this," Revy comments.

"Sit," Rock coldly whispers, quiet enough to avoid alerting the hobo, and loud enough to freeze Revy in her tracks. Revy looks up at Rock with an incredulous look on her face as Rock slowly stands from his seat. The hobo yells at the Chinese businesswoman, saying "TIỀN! MONEY!" The hobo's hands violently shake as he sporadically thrusts his pistol at the businesswoman, who is struggling to open the register. Rock slowly walks toward the hobo, reaching for his M9. He pulls up on his dress shirt, revealing the lower half of his bandaged torso to the patrons inside. Drawing his M9, Rock quickly pulls back on the slide of the pistol and points it at the right side of the hobo's temple. As the hobo realizes that someone is next to him, a gunshot rings out as almost all of the patrons cry out and duck to the ground. The bullet drills through the hobo's brains, exits out of the left side of the hobo's head, and lodges itself in a door frame, spraying blood and brain matter onto the ceramic floor. The Glock 17 falls out of the hobo's hands, bounces off a bottle of Sprite, and harmlessly lands on the floor by the dead hobo's feet.

Rock aims his M9 at the hobo's bleeding head, only to pause when he realizes that the hobo is already dead. He holsters his M9 and turns toward the Chinese businesswoman, whom he assumes to be the owner. Brandishing a mildly distressing smirk, Rock says "What a tragedy…a down on his luck man comes here begging for money, and when not given what he wants, kills himself with a gunshot to the head. To prove that there is generosity and kindness on this planet, I am giving you $100, to cover the cost of every patron's meal." The Japanese pirate smiles viciously at the Chinese woman, who cowers in fear, and then at the patrons. Seeing a mutual understanding between himself and all of the witnesses in the restaurant, he fishes out five $20 bills and slams them on the counter. He then slams another $40 and talks to the owner. "My partner and I are ready to order. I would have the baby shrimp and butter special, plus a cup of Hong Kong style milk tea. She would have the six piece pork dumpling special and…" Rock grabs a bottle of Schweppes Ginger Ale from underneath the counter "this bottle of Schweppes. As for any change, keep it for repairs to the door frame. Thank you."

The owner stares nervously at Rock, grabs the money, and turns toward the kitchen, yelling "Numbers 16, 28, and an H.K. tea!"

Rock calmly returns to his seat, facing a visibly shocked Revy. Staring into Revy's eyes, he places the bottle of Schweppes on the table and says "Well?" Glaring coldly at Rock, Revy slowly grabs the bottle of Schweppes, twists off the bottle cap, and mutters "…thanks."

Inside a cramped, dimly lit office, Takahashi skims through papers and files on his desk. "Apuna! James Apuna!" Takahashi yells, visibly annoyed. A turning of the doorknob and James Apuna steps into Takahashi's office. "Yes, ali`I (boss)?" Apuna asks. "Where's Mr. Tong?" Takahashi inquires. Apuna stares at the ground for a while, thinking of an answer, and then replies "Songxie's out, and has been out for a while. He said that he is at a lady friend's apartment, and that he wants to be alone. When I called him, he sounded extremely drunk…so there's that." Takahashi shakes his head and speaks out "Idiot! I need him tomorrow to negotiate distribution deals with some of these Thai mafia chiefs." Apuna thinks for a second, and then says "Well, I could handle the deals. So could Reynolds and Satele." Takahashi shakes his head and says "No. I want someone that understands these people, that lived here once, or maybe still does. Well…there's always Black Lagoon Company." Apuna raises an eyebrow and asks "Isn't distribution Songxie's responsibility?" "I am the commander-in-chief here, and it is my capital that I am risking for this investment. No, I'm placing the call. Next time, Songxie should sober up," Takahashi concludes, motioning Apuna out of his office.

"I'll drive," Rock says, catching the car keys as Revy pitches them to him. Seating himself inside the car, Rock slouches at the wheel and says "That was pretty good, I say. You agree, Revy?" Revy coldly glares at him and yells "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Rock turns the engine on, mutes the radio, and hits the pedal, driving away from the dumpling house. "Revy?" Rock mutters, driving through the Roanapur streets. "What?" Revy coldly responds, feeling extremely strange. Rock takes a deep breath and asks "Did you intentionally let me win at the trap shooting game?" Revy feigns a look of incredulousness, holds her hands out, and says "What? No Rock, of course not."

The Town Car suddenly cuts into an alleyway, the alleyway surrounded by derelict buildings. Rock furiously brakes the car and turns toward Revy, visibly enraged. "DON'T BULLSHIT A BULLSHITTER, REVY!" Rock yells, the veins on his body appearing ready to pop. "Wh-what the fuck?" Revy asks, caught off guard. Rock takes another deep breath, restrains himself, and says "I don't need your pity Revy, just like you didn't need mine. I can handle myself perfectly fine…I am not some weak little shit like you think I am!" Revy's facial expression switches from confusion to anger as she asks "What the fuck happened to you Rock? A month ago and you would have shat yourself if forced to shoot someone…and now? Now you go on executing people and looking like you're ready to shakedown a restaurant! What's with all the fucking change?"

"Change? CHANGE?" Rock yells, almost disgusted with the word. Grinding his teeth, Rock yells "Revy, people don't change. THEY ADAPT! After all this time together, all these years, you still don't accept me for who I am! You still fucking look at me like I am some naïve missionary being sent out to convert the cannibals from their savage ways, like I am on some humanitarian mission, hoping to change the world. No, you clearly don't understand after all the years we've been together, so allow me to FUCKING tell you!" Rock breaths heavily, trying to push his thoughts through his rage. After a pause, he continues "Revy, I AM A FUCKING PIRATE! I have helped hijack ships, negotiated arms deals, took money drenched in fucking blood! I took Chang's money, Balalaika's money, all of their dirty bills and spent them on food, smokes, and liquor. I HAD PEOPLE KILLED, REVY! You think a morally sound human being would convince a Russian mob boss to wipe out a horde of Yakuza mobsters? You think Ned Flanders would literally put a child at risk of getting shot just to give the finger to a Triad boss? And guess what Revy…guess what? I should be guilty…fuck, I should hate what I have become…but I don't. I go to bed, knowing that I am going to wake up and brush my teeth with toothpaste that was purchased using money that is red with blood and smells like opium! I buy my breakfast using cash that was wrestled from the hands of an addict mother that is starving her kids to death due to her heroin habit…and guess what? I don't care…no, I sleep very soundly at night."

Revy stares at Rock, her anger replaced with total shock as she slowly comes to terms with who Rock really is. She thinks to herself for several seconds, and then asks "So what's this with the new fucking language? And all you used to talk about saving people and shit? What happened to all that?"

Rock grinds his teeth and yells "Fuck, shit, cocksucker, faggot, cunt, bitch, motherfucker! Yes, Revy, I can swear too, you don't have a fucking monopoly on that! And my talk of saving people, of my 'hobby'? LIES! Fucking lies that I kept saying to myself because I was scared of what I became! Lies that I said to convince myself that I, Rokuro Okajima, a fucking pirate, is still a 'good' person. Bullshit that eventually started smelling so bad, I couldn't stick with it." Rock shakes his head and yells out, his throat sore from the yelling, from the truth that he kept stuffed down his throat for months, maybe years "Luca didn't change me…no. I am who I am, just like you are who you are. What Luca did, that sick bastard, was speed this up. Between all the garbage that he wrought on us, he made me realize the hypocrisy that I was swimming in, and then it stopped making any sense to me. So I did it! I accepted who I am! Rokuro Okajima, a.k.a. Rock. Pirate, con-man, and all around upstanding citizen of Roanapur. I may not be a gunner like you are, I have my own skills and weaknesses, but I am living dead just like you, Revy. I…I could have left Roanapur one night…just disappear to some backwater town in Indonesia, or China, or wherever. I could have started some shop and became an honest businessman, making an honest living…but I didn't. Why? Because this is what I am, and I accept myself for that, just like you accepted who you are, and the life you lead. I accept you for who you are, Revy. I am not a better or worse person then you Revy, and the moment I accepted that, was the moment that I realized that…I love you."

"Rock, don't you ever say that fucking word to me again," Revy yells, furiously reacting to the word 'love', finding it more plastic then the word 'change' was for Rock.

"No Revy! I won't stop saying it! And after living both in civilization and here in Roanapur, I can explain to you what the word love means," Rock interjects, his emotions swinging from frustration, rage, dread, euphoria, and everything in between. "Love…is a weakness that people accept because people develop an attachment to something. An attachment so great that, if that thing would be gone…would die…would disappear, that person would suffer tremendous pain. Pain that makes no sense, because pain is, at heart, a tool used by your brain to tell you that something is wrong. But nothing is wrong! You haven't been stabbed, shot, punched. You didn't break your ankle or tear your hamstring. But you wallow in pain because what you love is gone, and no replica would suffice. Just the object of your love, only if that comes back, would that particular wound be healed. So yes Revy, I love you, yes it's pathetic, and the thought of losing you scares the living shit out of me. And judging by your actions, when you rescued me in the Philippines from those terrorists, when you rescued me from Ginji and Yukio, when you rescued me from Luca, well…would you have done the same for anyone else?"

Revy grows silent with rage as she deeply ponders to herself. "Well?" Rock asks. Revy angrily responds "I am thinking." Rock stares at Revy and yells "What's there to think about?" Revy hisses and says "Rock…" Rock yells once more "I'll repeat myself. What the fuck is there to think about?"

Revy draws a Cutlass with her right hand and points it straight at Rock's forehead. Rock simply stares at Revy, not flinching, not even trying to grab her gun.

And there, it was at that moment, when Revy realizes that her hand is shaking, and that a slight slip of her trigger finger could blow Rock's brains out of his head and all over the interior of the car, that Revy got it. She immediately drops her Cutlass onto the divide of the car, shaking with fear and dread. Dread that she could have easily killed Rock. Dread…that Rock is right. "You…fucker…" Revy hisses. Her hands sway as she accidently hits the car radio, both turning on the radio and switching the station to a Vietnamese 60s/70s rock station. "Tóc Mai Sợi Vắn Sợi Dài (Long, Uneven hair)", by Thành Mái, plays on the radio.

The radio plays, the music sounding like it would fit in Woodstock 1969. The song has a slight Hendrix feel, mixed with a Southeast Asian character.

"Do you love me…Revy?" Rock asks, already knowing the answer, his throat sore, his bruise on his shoulder exacerbated, and his heart beating faster than before. Rock's hands shake as he feels numb, stressed, tired. Revy slowly unzips her tracksuit and crawls toward the driver seat. "Fuck you, Rock," Revy says, smiling, tired, swinging with emotion. She gets on top of Rock and leans forward, her lips slowly reaching their target. Closer and closer, her lips approach Rock's. Until, they connect, and she finally accepts Rock. Accepts him for who he is.

"What a shitty day," Revy curses as she wraps her arms around Rock's neck. "Yeah, tell me about it," Rock replies, closing his eyes, as the two sink into each other.

 


	5. Locomotion

"The train to Helsinki will leave in ten minutes! I repeat, the train to Helsinki will leave in ten minutes!" the conductor yells as a Japanese salary man named Rokuro Okajima, dressed in a grayish green business suit, a white dress shirt, and a grayish green tie, steps onto a train station platform. The salary man, clenching onto a disk-shaped ticket, stares at the ticket itself, the paper colored yellow with red drops of blood. On the ticket, it says "Departure from Riga, Latvian SSR. Stops at Tallinn, Estonian SSR; Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic; Helsinki, Finland."

Pocketing the ticket and holding a briefcase in his left arm, Mr. Okajima casually walks toward a black train. He stares at the cabs of the train, all possessing sharp edges and definitive shapes, appearing to look like coffins. Shrugging his shoulders, Mr. Okajima steps onboard the train.

Stepping onto the train, he is stopped by a man in a conductor outfit. The conductor, an Asian looking man with a beard and an extremely skinny body, motions for Mr. Okajima's ticket. "Vé, xin (ticket, please)" the conductor says in Vietnamese. After taking the ticket from Mr. Okajima's hand and surveying it, the conductor says "Cám ơn (thank you)".

Nodding to the conductor, Mr. Okajima turns right toward the cabins. The first cabin to his right is open. Peering inside, Mr. Okajima spots four individuals playing poker on a foldable table. Seated on the cushion on the right is a blond, European looking man in a fine beige double-breasted suit, with a teal undershirt and an orange tie. As the man talks, he reveals a set of braces on his teeth. Across from the braces wearing man, another European looking man sits on a cushion of his own, with a stern look on his face. The man, a much larger individual, wearing a green suit with a pink undershirt, stares with a focused look on his eyes, his blonde, shoulder length hair almost appearing to be a mullet. Between the two men, a pair of what appears to be children sits on stools on opposite ends of the table. What appears to be a little boy with white hair sits on a child's stool, his back facing the window, as he plays around with his cards. Across from the boy, a little girl with long, white hair sits on a child's stool of her own, poking a sewing needle at the eyes of the Queen of Diamonds. The beige suit man with braces says "Did you hear about the Japanese Godfather? He made them an offer they couldn't understand." The beige suit man and the green suit man chuckle as the two children stare in confusion.

"Hello," Mr. Okajima speaks to the group. "Check or fold, your turn," the man in the green suit says. The little girl turns around and cheerfully smiles at Mr. Okajima, saying "Hi mister! My name is Elena! My brother's name is Nicolae. We are coming to Helsinki from Romania." Mr. Okajima stares at the other three members of the cabin and says "Hello? Why you are heading to Helsinki?" Elena cheerfully smiles and says "Sorry mister, but they are busy with their own things. It's okay, I'm here for you. I like you mister, you seem like a good person. I rarely see good persons, which is sad. The big man's name is Vesuvio. He adopted me and my brother Nicolae and took us from the bad place. He is scary, and I think he is a bad man too, but he is taking us to Helsinki, so that is good. The other guy with the braces thing is Rinaldo Cuccidati, but some call him Mr. Braces. We don't know much about him, but he thinks he's a funny man and likes to laugh when he is not angry."

As Mr. Okajima nods in response to Elena's explanation, Mr. Vesuvio erupts in frenzy. Grabbing Elena by her hair, he yells "When I say it's your turn to check or fold, YOU CHECK OR FOLD!" As he tries to pick Elena up by her hair, the hair comes off and is revealed as a wig. Suddenly, Nicolae takes out a needle and pokes at a tiny stuffed doll. As Nicolae pokes at the doll, various spots on Vesuvio's suit turn red with blood stains, as Vesuvio collapses on the floor in agony. Elena laughs and turns to Mr. Okajima, saying "You're a good mister, unlike Vesuvio. For that, I will reward you." Elena reaches for her skirt and pulls it up, the sight filling Mr. Okajima with disgust as he stares at both Elena and Nicolae. Suddenly, the feeling of nausea causes Mr. Okajima to vomit all over the cabin floor. Seeing this, Rinaldo Cuccidati starts laughing at Mr. Okajima, pointing his left index finger at him. While laughing, streams of blood start to flow out of Rinaldo's mouth and onto his suit, as the European man continues to laugh and mock Mr. Okajima.

Wiping vomit off of his lips, Mr. Okajima shuts the cabin door behind him as he turns toward a cabin right across from him, his cabin. Stepping inside, Mr. Okajima props his briefcase on the floor and rests on the seat cushion. He sees a record player hanging from the ceiling, a vinyl record spinning as the needle hovers over the record, not touching the record. Curious, Mr. Okajima takes off his shoes and tries to reach the record player, to push the needle onto the record. As he reaches for the needle, the roof of the cabin suddenly rises higher, pulling the needle out of Mr. Okajima's reach. Annoyed, Mr. Okajima grabs one of his shoes and tosses it at the record player. He misses as the shoe arcs downward and bounces off the cabin's window. Suddenly, the train starts moving, beginning its exit from Riga, Latvian SSR. Caught off guard, Mr. Okajima balances himself and slides down to the cabin's seat cushion. Resigning himself, Mr. Okajima quickly forgets about the record player.

Mr. Okajima lies on the seat cushion, using it as makeshift bed. He feels extremely tired and attempts to fall asleep on the seat cushion, but finds himself unable to close his eyes. Twisting and turning on his cushion, he suddenly hears the door to his cabin creek open. "Hello, you must be my cabin mate for this ride. My name is Lucas Carbonari. Your name?" the man asks, a tall European looking man with long, slick black hair, flowing over his shoulders, a cleft chin, and a pair of circular sunglasses. He is dressed in a beige sports jacket, a white undershirt, beige dress pants with a held up by a black, leather belt, and black dress shoes. He smiles, extending his hand toward Mr. Okajima. Mr. Okajima hesitantly shakes Mr. Carbonari's hand, saying "It's a pleasure. My name is Rokuro Okajima, Mr. Carbonari."

"Oh, the pleasure is mine. And please, call me Rock. Everyone calls me Rock," Mr. Carbonari says, almost snickering in laughter. Sitting down on a seat cushion opposite of Mr. Okajima's seat, Mr. Carbonari places a duffle bag on the ground. "What business brings you to Riga?" Mr. Carbonari asks. Mr. Okajima shakes his head and says "Long story. To start, I work in the resource investigation and procurement department for Asahi Heavy Industries, a Japanese corporation. I was supposed to deliver a specialized product for the Soviet Union, to be tested in a military outpost outside of Riga, but after an insane series of events, I was instructed by my superiors to travel to Helsinki after the whole thing turned into a disaster. How about you, Mr. Rock Carbonari?"

"I used to work for the Calabrese Merchant Protection agency, a security firm located in NYC, but now I am working for an import/export company in Vancouver, as a senior manager. It's a relatively obscure company, so I doubt you ever heard of it," Mr. Carbonari answers. Mr. Okajima nods and asks "What brings you to Helsinki?" Mr. Carbonari smiles and answers with a question "What brings everybody to Helsinki?"

Mr. Okajima and Mr. Carbonari grow silent as the conversation dies down. Suddenly, Mr. Carbonari unzips the duffle bag and retrieves a green can. "Want a beer? Heineken? These taste pretty good," Mr. Carbonari offers. Mr. Okajima ponders to himself, casually shrugs his shoulders, loosens his tie, and says "Alright, thank you." Mr. Carbonari tosses Mr. Okajima a beer. Mr. Okajima opens the can and takes a sip, savoring the cold, hops flavor. Mr. Carbonari takes another can from his duffle bag and opens it himself, drinking the beer with Mr. Okajima. "Cheers, to whatever we may desire," Mr. Carbonari says, bring his beer up, as Mr. Okajima toasts Mr. Carbonari and says "Cheers, to whatever we may desire."

The two finish their beers and crush the cans, tossing the cans on the ground. Mr. Carbonari reaches inside his duffle bag, searching for a minute. Sighing, he says "It appears I forgot my lighter again. Do you happen to have a flame?" Mildly annoyed, but remembering that Mr. Carbonari, a.k.a. Rock, gave him a beer, Mr. Okajima reaches into his pockets and retries a set of matches. Mr. Carbonari retrieves a cigarette, grabs the set of matches, tears off a match, strikes it, and lights his cigarette, saying "Grazie" to Mr. Okajima.

As Mr. Carbonari tosses the spent match onto the floor and places the set of matches into his pocket, he suddenly asks "Do you mind if I smoke?" Mr. Okajima dismisses the question and says "Feel free."

The two men quietly mind their own business for several minutes until Mr. Carbonari becomes even more talkative. "You know, Mr. Okajima, it is funny how people are like ants. How they all scurry along, sometimes have their paths altered, but in the end, they end up in the same place, always," Mr. Carbonari says. "Yea, Rock, I know. I know," Mr. Okajima replies, mildly annoyed.

Mr. Carbonari bursts out into maniacal laughter and says "Don't delude yourself, Mr. Okajima. You know that I am what you would have become had you not stepped out of the 'twilight'. You never were in the twilight, in your line of work, despite what you always thought. You weren't on the border between good and bad. All you have been was at the border between one culture and another. Have you ever heard of good people in your line of work? There are none!"

Mr. Okajima grinds his teeth and yells "Why are you telling me this!" Mr. Carbonari chuckles and replies "Because I hate lies, and hypocrisy. You keep deluding yourself that you are different. That I, Lucas Rock Carbonari, am not what you would have become. Well believe it, Mr. Okajima! Believe that I would have been the result had you stuck to your delusions that you are in the twilight! All things considered, I have done you a great favor!"

Mr. Okajima shakes his head and says "I am not a sociopath like you, Mr. Carbonari! I have emotions! I have inhibitions! I may not be a shining beacon of morality, but I am not like you, and I am not capable of becoming like you!" Mr. Carbonari smiles, looks to the ground, shakes his head twice, and says "Who says I don't understand emotions? Who says sociopaths can't express emotions?"

Suddenly, the door to Mr. Carbonari's and Mr. Okajima's cabin slides open, and a couple steps inside. A tall Japanese man in a trench coat and sunglasses, sporting hair on his chin, and carrying a camera on a folded tripod in his right hand, flanks the rear of a short Japanese woman, appearing to be of late high school or early college age. The Japanese woman wears a brown sweater and eyeglasses, and sports long, black hair. In her hands is a black backpack, which she drops on the floor. "Do you mind if the two of us stay here for a bit?" the woman says. "Not at all," Mr. Carbonari says.

The woman sits down by Mr. Carbonari, as the tall man stands by the window. Turning to Mr. Okajima, the woman says "Hello, my name is Yukio Mishima. My partner's name is Tatenokai Masakatsu. We are a pair of tourists from Tallinn that have tried to vacation in Riga, but our tickets have been revoked. So now we are headed to Helsinki instead." Mr. Okajima eerily eyes Ms. Mishima and asks "Why are you going to Helsinki?" Ms. Mishima giggles and says "Why is everyone on this train going to Helsinki?" Ms. Mishima suddenly pauses for a second, and then asks "You do understand what all of us mean when we say that we are going to Helsinki, right?" Mr. Okajima frowns and slowly nods, saying "Yeah…yeah."

"Oh I am sorry! I don't believe we have met before, mister…" Ms. Mishima says as she extends a hand toward Mr. Carbonari. Mr. Carbonari shakes her hand and says "My name is Lucas Carbonari, but everyone calls me Rock." Ms. Mishima smiles and says "I remember a person that was called Rock. He was such a hypocrite that he deluded himself into thinking that he was normal. That he was better than us, when he was in the same line of work as us! Come to think of it, you remind me of what he could have become, had he kept himself to his hypocritical standards and principles, and had never realized the monster that his 'twilight' was causing him to deteriorate into." Ms. Mishima turns toward Mr. Okajima and smiles with a sinister look on his face "Though now it seems that he is starting to realize the stupidity of what he once believed in. From what I heard, it's still a work in progress, unfortunately."

Mr. Okajima raises his voice and yells "For the last time! I am not a sociopath!" Ms. Mishima and Mr. Carbonari ignore Mr. Okajima and start talking with each other. "You know, Mr. Carbonari, I have read a fascinating report about sociopathy and its prevalence," Ms. Mishima says. Mr. 'Rock' Carbonari turns to Ms. Mishima, attentive, and asks "What did you learn?"

Ms. Mishima turns to face Mr. Okajima, while speaking to Mr. Carbonari "Some psychologists say that between 2% to 4% of the global population are all sociopaths of various degree. That means one out of every 25 to 50 people is a sociopath in some shape or form. Even more difficult to account for are sociopaths that have been sheltered by the community that they live in. While someone…say…a street urchin in NYC, yeah, say that. Such a street urchin, if indeed a sociopath, would indulge in sociopathic behaviors due to the individualistic culture of America. These sociopaths are much easier to identify. On the other hand, a sociopath born in say…a middle class Japanese community, yes, that. Such a person would have the concepts of collectivism and shame beaten into their brain. If that person would indulge in sociopathic activities, they will be full of shame, not guilt. As a result, such collectivist societies could have much more sociopaths then they think. However, a sociopath at heart has trouble expressing emotions and empathy, and as such, due to their collectivist culture where they are taught firsthand the concepts of proper and improper, such sociopaths become masters at feigning emotion or simply replicating emotion, when they at heart don't fully understand it. Such people can become master manipulators and excellent con-men that use violence as a last resort, while such American sociopaths can become violent and aggressive people that use brute force as a primary means, rather than lies. And this does not rule out the concept of 'functioning' sociopaths. People that are capable of limited empathy and emotion, but not on the level of the rest of the population. These 'functioning' sociopaths would show connection and loyalty to a tight knit group, such as a lover or a few friends, but consider the rest of the human race to be utterly irrelevant. Such 'functioning' sociopaths are capable of holding steady jobs, forming a scarce few steady relationships, but are, at heart, not much different than non-functional sociopaths that struggle to adapt. These functioning sociopaths, like all sociopaths, consider themselves to be the most important person in their lives, although they are able to rank others as very close to themselves in terms of importance. These functioning sociopaths, like other sociopaths, have a concrete goal, which could develop and adapt depending on the situation they are in. For instance, while Mr. Carbonari once drove himself toward the making of wealth, now he drives himself toward placing his mark and influence on everything around him."

Mr. Okajima slams his fist on his seat cushion and exclaims "How does that make me a 'functioning' sociopath?"

Ms. Mishima smiles and continues "You are a Japanese man, raised in a Japanese society, yet you work as a pirate, for an organization that steals, kills, and helps sell narcotics. You commit horrible acts despite being taught that such acts are wrong and immoral. You spend the majority of your week by drinking beer and acting completely lazy, very unlike your upbringing, while your counterparts are slaving themselves into death by heart attack while working overtime hours for free in the interest of harmony and collectivism. You have violated almost every single cultural norm and ethical code that you were raised on, and you know what you did is considered wrong. Yet, you will continue to violate such codes and bring shame to your family until the day you die. And furthermore, I don't think you even care. If that is not a sociopath, I don't know what is." Ms. Mishima's expression turns from a smile to a stern look of anger as she yells "I used to hate you because you were in the twilight! I simmered with rage and jealousy as you tried to tell me that what I am doing is wrong, yet look at yourself! You are just like us! Just accept it, already! You have already accepted that you are dangerous man…no! You already PROVED that you are a dangerous man! So take that one final step and accept that you are just like us, which you always have been! We are not lost souls…we are people of free will that have chosen the lives we lead and have led! Just accept that you are one of us, it does not diminish who you are! Only hypocrisy could diminish who you are."

Mr. Okajima simply stares numbly at Ms. Mishima, then at Mr. Carbonari, and then at Tatenokai Masakatsu. Masakatsu removes a sheath on his tripod and tosses the sheath on the ground, setting it on its legs. It is at this moment that Mr. Okajima realizes that the train is moving, and yet, it is completely silent.

"So Mr. Okajima, do you finally accept that you are one of us?" Ms. Mishima says, smirking, as Mr. Carbonari also smiles. Mr. Okajima rubs his forehead and says "I'm still thinking about it." Mr. Masakatsu interrupts and speaks out, his deep voice resonating through the cabin "What the hell is there to think about? You're the one who brought this up with your partner."

"The train has stopped in Tallinn. I repeat, the train has stopped in Tallinn," someone announces from outside the cabin. Ms. Mishima blurts out "We should do a group picture, for memory sake." Mr. Carbonari and Mr. Masakatsu both nod in approval. As Mr. Okajima shakes his head, Ms. Mishima grabs Mr. Okajima by his left arm and drags him to the floor. There, Mr. Okajima, Ms. Mishima, and Mr. Carbonari all awkwardly pose as Mr. Masakatsu photographs the three using his tripod. As the flash from the camera brightens the cabin, blood drops start dripping down from Mr. Masakatsu's neck.

"I'm going to go. I'll find my own way to Helsinki," Mr. Okajima says. He motions at Mr. Carbonari and says "Can I have my matches back?"

Mr. Carbonari tosses the set of matches at Mr. Okajima, who catches the set of matches and pockets them. Mr. Okajima reaches for his shoes and puts them back on. As he puts them back on, he notices a stream of blood trickling through Mr. Carbonari's hair as blood droplets slide from the sides of his head and down his cheeks. Mr. Okajima grabs his briefcase when he is interrupted by Ms. Mishima. "So, do you accept us as your equals? Have you stopped looking down on us? Have you stopped labeling us as immoral gutter trash?" Ms. Mishima asks. Suddenly, a gap in her neck appears and widens, revealing the insides of Ms. Mishima's throat. Mr. Okajima looks down for a while, and ultimately says "I'm still thinking about it." As he prepares to leave, Ms. Mishima, Mr. Carbonari, and Mr. Masakatsu all say in unison "What the fuck is there to think about?"

Mr. Okajima steps out of the cabin and looks right, seeing the conductor lying on the ground, blood seeping out of his head. He turns left and walks past an overhead sign that says "Bathroom." He overhears a knock on a door and peers forward. A dark skinned man in intricate African robes slides a briefcase through the cracks of the bathroom door, shouting "Shut up, Fergus Kentson!" Realizing that there is someone behind him, the oddly dressed man turns around and says "EY! I am Tutankhamen Musa, royal prince from the Africa kingdom of Senegaloon! How may this one humbly serve you?"

Mr. Okajima eyes the man, staring suspiciously at him. Convinced of his suspicions, Mr. Okajima says "I know you. You are not royalty. You are not even African. You are from Papua New Guinea. You are as Asian as I am." Musa says "I am not sure I understand," unsheathing an unsettling smile, a smile that more so implies 'Shut up'. Suddenly, the numbers '626' appears on Musa's neck, as Musa reaches into his pockets. Pulling out a hand full of something that is concealed in his left palm, Musa asks "Want some betelnut?" Musa opens his palm, revealing a trio of blood covered bullets. Suddenly, a red circle appears on Musa's forehead. "You…you have something on your forehead," Mr. Okajima says. Still smiling, Musa replies "I know, you don't have to remind me."

Mr. Okajima walks past Musa and continues on his way. Approaching a door on the far end of the cabin, he opens it and steps outside. A two foot platform separates Mr. Okajima from the ground. Mr. Okajima jumps off the platform and lands on a cold, winter beach, the sand dark and hard from the chilliness. He turns around to find the train hovering above this cold, empty beach, the wheels barely touching the sand on the beach. Behind the train is a vast mass of water, waves crashing onto the beach. Mr. Okajima solemnly stares at the train for a second, and then turns around, heading out of the beach and towards a large mass of stores. Suddenly, he hears a woman yell out "Mr. Okajima! Yaponski!"

Turning around, he sees a tall, blonde woman dressed in maroon business attire, holding what appears to be a bottle of vodka in her right hand and a photograph in her other hand. "Mr. Okajima, your friends said that the picture has been developed. Here you go," the woman hands Mr. Okajima the photograph. Mr. Okajima looks at photograph and surveys it. The photograph shows a man in a white dress shirt, a pocket on his shirt, with hair combed on one said and ruffled on the other. The man has a tie and dress pants. Suddenly, blood spots appear on the tie and dress shirt, the blood spots forming the word 'Eris'. As soon as the word Eris has formed, a red line suddenly crosses diagonally on the photo from the top left to the bottom right, and then again from the top right to the bottom left. Suddenly, the photograph goes black, and then reappears, this time showing a man in the same outfit as the before, except the white dress shirt has been replaced with a black and white plaid dress shirt, and the tie is gone. A M9 pistol suddenly appears in that man's right hand, and an Uzi suddenly appears in that man's left hand. Mr. Okajima stares at the photograph for three minutes, waiting for it to change, but the photograph does not change any more.

Pocketing the photograph, Mr. Okajima turns to the tall, blonde woman and asks "Have we met before?" The woman stares at Mr. Okajima for a few seconds, and then says "Perhaps. My name is Svetlana Vasilyevna Davidova, but people call me SVD." Mr. Okajima nods once and stares at her feet, seeing combat boots. He asks "Ms. Davidova, were you on the train with me?" Ms. Davidova nods and says "I am going for an express route to Helsinki, I have a few ideas." She grabs the bottle of vodka and pours it all over her head and body. Tossing the bottle on the ground, she pulls out a cigar and places it in her mouth. "Do you have a light? I am out of matches," Ms. Davidova asks. Mr. Okajima tosses her a set of matches. Ms. Davidova tears a match off, strikes it, tosses the set of matches back to Mr. Okajima, and lights her cigar. "Spasiba (thank you)," Ms. Davidova says, dropping the match onto her feet. Suddenly, she combusts into flames, not saying a word as fire burns through her skin. "Na zdarovye (for good health)," Mr. Okajima replies, turning toward the shops as Ms. Davidova is reduced into ashes.

Nearing the steps that would take him out of the beach, Mr. Okajima spots a man riding a chocolate colored pony on the sand. The man, a blonde man with eyeglasses, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, and carrying what appears to be a desktop computer by having it strapped to his back, yells out "Mr. Okajima! Howdy! Check out my new ride, she's a beauty, ain't she? Born and bred in India, a truly fine horse. I think I'm going to call her Jane. Giddy up Jane! Yeehaw!" The man rides his horse past Mr. Okajima and off into the horizon. Walking up the stone steps out of the beach, Mr. Okajima starts snickering to himself.

Stepping onto the sidewalk, Mr. Okajima crosses the street, the streets devoid of all life and activity. He spots a large skyscraper with kanji lettering on the building, the lettering translating to 'Asahi Heavy Industries'. In front of the skyscraper, and to the right of Mr. Okajima, is a street stand that says 'Sun Yee On International Foods'. Behind the booth, a gothic looking woman chops a plucked chicken with a cleaver as a tall, Taiwanese woman chops carrots and onions with a kukri knife. In the middle of the two, a Chinese man in a red Japanese chef's attire, wearing sunglasses and holding a wok in both of his hands, yells out "We got all the flavors! Thai, Chinese, Italian, Colombian, Russian, Vietnamese! Whatever your heart desires!"

Mr. Okajima approaches the food stand and seats himself on the stool. Looking up at Mr. Okajima, the Chinese chef says "Hey! It's been a while! It's me, Woo! Chef Woo, remember?" Mr. Okajima watches as Chef Woo juggles glass noodles in the air using his duel wielded woks "Yea, I remember." Chef Woo smiles and says "We have a special today. Shrimp and shredded pork with scrambled eggs and some glass noodles imported from Dalian. Some recommend that it be served with ginger ale, but I'm partial to the Hong Kong style milk tea. Want an order?"

Mr. Okajima sets his briefcase on a stool next to him and stares silently at Chef Woo. Chef Woo simply smiles and stares back, silent. After staring at each other for a few minutes, Mr. Okajima frankly asks "You do realize that I know that this is a dream, right?" Chef Woo simply grins at Mr. Okajima for several seconds. After a moment of silence, Chef Woo says "So you know what it is meant when you hear 'Riga', and 'Tallinn', and 'Helsinki', right?"

Mr. Okajima smiles and nods, saying "Yeah, I know. I noticed all of the things that are being suggested here. I've been to all three places on business trips, I remember how they look. Last time I checked, Asahi Industries didn't set up their headquarters in Estonia. I'm in…well, I'm in Tokyo. Riga is Roanapur. And Helsinki is…well…well." Chef Woo solemnly nods and says "You don't have to finish it, I get the point."

Mr. Okajima removes his tie and places it on his briefcase. Looking to the right, he sees a man with white hair, dressed in a trench coat, holding a sign that is advertising the place. "Where did he come from?" Mr. Okajima asks. Chef Woo answers "He helped out the ladies by my side, saved their asses. Besides that, he's pretty much useless, so I just make him stand outside and act pretty."

Mr. Okajima and Chef Woo grow quite, as the only noise that is emitted is the sound of chopping by the two women that flank Chef Woo. Suddenly, Mr. Okajima says "You know what's really fucked up? I know that I am dreaming, but I am not sure if this is…well, my dream, or my partner's dream. You know, her, Ms. Zhao." Chef Woo grins and asks "Well…who would you prefer to experience this dream? Mr. Okajima or Ms. Zhao?" Mr. Okajima thinks for a second and says "A part of me prefers that this be Mr. Okajima's dream, the other part prefers that this be Ms. Zhao's dream." Chef Woo smirks and replies "Who says that both of you are unable to experience similar dreams like this?" Mr. Okajima raises his left eyebrow and asks "Are you suggesting that this is Mr. Okajima's dream or Ms. Zhao's dream?" Chef Woo shakes his head and says "I'm not suggesting anything. When you wake up, you'll find out."

The two grow silent again, silent for an entire minute. For an entire minute, all that could be heard is the sound of meat and vegetables being chopped. "So," Chef Woo suddenly says "are you going to ask me what I think you are going to ask me?" Mr. Okajima forces a smile and says "It's a hard thing to talk about. I'm still thinking about it." "You're the one who opened this particular can of worms," Chef Woo replies. "Yeah, yeah, I know…alright…yeah," Mr. Okajima mumbles to himself. After a short pause, he asks Chef Woo "Am I a sociopath, functioning or otherwise?"

Chef Woo suddenly starts stirring one of his woks with a ladle. After a pause, Chef Woo says "Well, ask yourself the question. Do you think that piracy is wrong? That stealing and helping drug dealers is wrong? That killing people is wrong? That all of that is shunned by society?" Mr. Okajima pauses for a second, and then says "Yes." Chef Woo nods and then asks "Do you feel guilt for your actions, or shame? Will you stop what you are doing and start following the rules that society set you to follow?" Mr. Okajima smiles and says "No and no." Chef Woo shrugs his shoulders and says "Then what is there to think about? You are clearly a sociopath, just like the rest of us." Mr. Okajima grows silent for a few seconds, and then mutters "Fuck…"

"Well, sooner or later, you have to just accept it. You already accepted that you are a pirate and a scumbag, so all that's left is accepting the obvious," Chef Woo lectures. He watches Mr. Okajima retreat into deep thought, and listens as Mr. Okajima asks "But what about Yukio Wa…Yukio Mishima? And the situation with the rampaging maid? Doesn't that show that I am not a sociopath?"

"Well, what were your motives, Mr. Okajima?" Chef Woo asks. Mr. Okajima immediately answers "To save people. To rescue people from the gutter." Chef Woo smiles and asks "Did you try to rescue them because they were emotionally significant to you?" Mr. Okajima blankly stares at Chef Woo and says "…No." Chef Woo asks "Did you try to rescue them because you were scared that they'll turn into you?" Mr. Okajima pauses for a second, and replies "Maybe." Chef Woo cracks a detached smile and asks "Did you rescue that Latino boy and his maid because you wanted to take credit for something, to get recognition, and to give me the finger? To show that you have strength behind that dress shirt?" Mr. Okajima forces a smile and replies "Yes, you sick bastard. Yes. After all those years of being beaten down at work and in life, I got a chance to take credit for something amazing, for something that makes me significant. My old hobby had been all about saving people so I could receive the serotonin boost in my brain. So the answer is, yes."

Chef Woo pries further, saying "You didn't really care what would happen to Yukio and the Latino boy after their respective crises would have been resolved, or in the case of Yukio, had they been resolved. You weren't going to bother checking up on them. You haven't even bothered to get in contact with the Latino boy and his maid, to see if they are still alive. You have no idea if they have lived in relative peace, or if they have been attacked by FARC hitmen, all of them given Colombian Neckties. You don't care about them, because you got what you wanted out of them, and now they are irrelevant."

Mr. Okajima glares at Chef Woo and asks "Then why does Yukio haunt me?" Chef Woo smirks and answers "Because she called you out on your bullshit, and because she had Ginj-Mr. Masakatsu and herself killed just to spite you." Mr. Okajima forces another smile and says "Yeah…yeah." Chef Woo smirks and says "Except…you don't know if she killed herself just to spite you. You assume that because you think you are the most important thing around you and the center of attention, more proof that you are a sociopath." Mr. Okajima turns to the side and nods, saying "That's just playing dirty."

"Why did you stay in Roan-in Riga, after you returned to Tallinn?" Chef Woo asks. "Because I thought that I could save people in Roanapur, change people, rescue them from the gutter," Mr. Okajima replies. Chef Woo smirks and says "So your ultimate motive was to influence these people and change them to what you desire them to become. To place your mark, your 'brand' on them, narcissistically thinking that you could change them. Who does that remind us of?"

Mr. Okajima looks down to his dress shirt and pulls the shirt up, revealing a carving of Eris on his chest. Realizing the point that Chef Woo is making, Mr. Okajima sighs and mutters "Damn it". Chef Woo nods with a look on his face that suggests 'gotcha' and asks "When you were in that torpedo boat, being chased by that attack chopper, and you came up with the plan to blow that helicopter to Helsinki and back, how did you feel?" Mr. Okajima stares blankly at Chef Woo for a minute, and then says "You know, I should have felt maybe guilt, or shock…or considering the asshole was trying to kill me, maybe just nothing at all. But I felt something." Chef Woo leans forward and asks "What did you feel?" Mr. Okajima smiles and says "I felt a rush like I never felt before. I felt like I just fucked my greatest sexual desire in the mansion I bought with my own money, after bashing out the brains of my boss Kageyama with my own two hands. I felt a surge of power like I never felt before. To be honest, I still think to that time with warm feelings...that makes me a sociopath, right?" Chef Woo forces a smile and solemnly nods, saying "Yeah, and to be honest, it is kind of surprising that you have sexual desires."

Mr. Okajima slams his hands on the counter and says "Oh c'mon! I may be living dead but I'm not dead inside. Why do people always think that? I have a dick and a set of balls, I am a male in my 20s. You know, I am a human being, not a machine." Chef Woo chuckles and says "Just messing with you, Mr. Okajima." After a pause, Chef Woo asks "So…is that why you and your partner are…?" Mr. Okajima stares at Chef Woo for a second and answers "Not just that. She is very important to me. She makes me happy, makes me feel alive. I like being around her, and I want to stay around her. Does that…not make me a sociopath?" Chef Woo answers "It makes you a functioning sociopath at the least, just like her. The two of you still hold yourselves as the most important person in your lives, but you two are capable of establishing a few choice relationships. The irony is that the two of you anchor each other. You keep her from turning into a sociopathic killer like those Romani twins, and she keeps you from turning into Mr. Carbonari…Mr. 'Rock' Carbonari." Chef Woo stares at Mr. Okajima and asks "Would you take a bullet for her? Would she take a bullet for you?" Mr. Okajima thinks for a few seconds and answers "Maybe and maybe."

The two men grow silent again, each minding their own business. Suddenly, Mr. Okajima asks "So…if my original motive of changing people is now gone, what are my motives now? What motivates me now?" Chef Woo juggles chopped vegetables in the air with his two woks and hums to himself. Suddenly, he retrieves a clay plate from under the counter and places it on the counter, the plate covered in American and Thai currencies, with drops of blood on them. Chef Woo grabs a pair of chopsticks and picks up a $100 American bill, coins falling out of the $100 bill. "Try this, it's from a mixed salad," Chef Woo says, as Mr. Okajima reaches for the chopsticks. Chef Woo slaps Mr. Okajima's hands down and says "C'mon, I got to have some power over here. Open your mouth." Mr. Okajima complies as Chef Woo sticks the paper currency into Mr. Okajima's mouth. Mr. Okajima chews the $100 bill, nodding. "So…" Chef Woo says "What does it taste like?"

"It tastes like whatever I want it to taste. It tastes like power," Mr. Okajima nonchalantly says. After pausing for a few seconds in front of a smiling Chef Woo, Mr. Okajima adds "It tastes different then what Asahi Industries fed me with. It tastes like there's more of it, more excitement. Shit, my partner was right. Money is power. I like it, I want more." Mr. Okajima reaches for the mixed salad, but Chef Woo snatches it away, saying "Seriously! I'm not running a charity."

Mr. Okajima nods and says "I think I know what I want. I want money, and I want to share as much of it with my partner as possible. I think that is a much more healthy motivation then to change people and leave my influence around." Chef Woo nods and says "It was that kind of thinking that saved your partner from turning into a serial killer or a mass murdering psychopath. Money is a funny thing."

Mr. Okajima nods and asks "What if people still think that I am this kind and moral person? What if people still don't accept me for who I am?" Chef Woo shrugs his shoulders and says "Who cares? You are what you are, Mr. Okajima. Our actions determine who we are, not the other way around. If I wanted to open a fish stall and tell dirty jokes at random tourists, then that is me. People don't change and it's impossible to make them change, just people's perception of other people changes. It could be hard for some to accept, fuck, some would never accept it, but that's life. You can't make everyone agree with you."

Mr. Okajima nods and says "I am surprised how easily my partner agreed and accepted me. I don't understand her sometimes. At one point she wants me to think like her, then she hates me for being an idiot, then she tells me to look away so that I don't become damaged like her, then she wants me to get out, then she blames herself for having me 'crack' and tries to kill me and herself, and now she is okay with me realizing who I am and me accepting that I am just like everyone else in Roanapur, more or less. What the hell?" Chef Woo nods and says "She is a complicated person, just like you. Honestly, I think that now, since you have already sunken in with the rest of Roana-with the rest of Riga, she is comforted by knowing that you won't break down into a sniveling mess. She may have been a bit shocked by your little speech, but she would have been pissed off to no end if you acted like a guilt-ridden, depressed fuck that wants to kill himself. So yeah, as unusual as her reaction may seem, she is happy with what she sees, because the alternative would be much, MUCH, worse. She knows how Riga works, and she doesn't want you to turn into easy prey. Because, well, think about it. She knows she can't protect you at all times."

Mr. Okajima nods and says "She is a troubled woman." Chef Woo asks "What do you think of her?" Mr. Okajima immediately responds and says "She's gutter trash, but that's okay, because I am gutter trash. I used to look down on her as barbaric and insane, and kept hoping that I could change her. But now that I stopped, I could appreciate her for what she is, and myself for what I am. So yeah, I care about her. A lot."

"That's good to hear. Living without friends can be scary in the life we live. I myself care about a select few people that I know are trustworthy. Good to have them at my side when, you know…you take that trip to Hel-" Chew Woo says, only to be interrupted by Mr. Okajima. Mr. Okajima asks "Is there a chance I could avoid that trip? Go to the other place?" Chef Woo laughs and says "C'mon, again you're deluding yourself. Your ticket has already been punched, and besides, your partner ain't going to the other place anyway. So why go there alone?" Mr. Okajima looks down on the counter and sees the train ticket that he handed to the conductor, the ticket still stained in blood.

Looking back up, Mr. Okajima asks "What's it like there? In what you like to call 'Helsinki'?" Chef Woo shrugs his shoulders and says "I don't know, I never been there." "Do you think we'll be punished for what we do?" Mr. Okajima nervously asks. Chef Woo laughs and says "Since when has life been about punishment? If anything, life has been about restitution. My guess, when you arrive over in 'Helsinki', you'll find everything just like your normal place, your normal life. You know, the place outside this dream. What makes 'Helsinki' the place it is, my guess, is that you'll be surrounded by all the people you pissed off during your life, and they have an eternity to exact restitution. So again, coming back to what I said, when I mentioned that having no real friends in the life we lead can get very fucking scary."

Mr. Okajima solemnly nods, sighs, and stares at his ticket. Curious, he asks "When was my ticket punched?" Chef Woo stretches his neck and says "The jury is still out on that one. Some say when you were born, some say when you joined your new company, some say when you had that Hind taken down, some say when you wiped out those Jap mobsters, some say when you played Russian Roulette with that Latino boy, some say when you played that Calabrian Countergambit with Mr. Carbonari, and still others say that you punched that ticket with the brains of a Vietnamese hobo. Me personally? I haven't the faintest idea."

Mr. Okajima grimaces and says "Life ain't perfect. Every life you lead has the baggage that comes with it." Chef Woo smiles and claps, saying "Now you're getting it!"

Mr. Okajima pauses for a second, and then asks "Would you consider me a mobster?" Chef Woo immediately replies "Mr. Okajima, you helped hijack ships, broker arms deals, translate for mob bosses. You even helped an organization smuggle themselves into Riga with the tools to make a product that will destroy thousands of lives. You work for a courier group that moonlights as a pirate outfit. You're a mobster without a racket. Better yet, with the way your boss handles your services, you're more accurately called a 'punch clock mobster'. If you weren't already working for someone, I would have offered you a job in my organization. Fuck, if you were unemployed and Chinese, I would have even inducted you into my circle, given you some special tattoos. You're a crafty man and someone who could turn into a really good earner."

Mr. Okajima smiles and says "Thanks…I appreciate the compliment." Stepping off the stool, Mr. Okajima grabs his briefcase with his left hand and says "Do you think I'll remember this dream?" Chef Woo returns to his woks and says "If someone wakes you up soon, you'd probably remember everything. Oh, and that ticket will follow you everywhere, so you don't have to take it." Mr. Okajima nods, staring at the tie that he left on the stool. Looking at Chef Woo, he says "Thanks for the talk. It has helped clear some things up." Chef Woo smiles and asks "So, do you finally accept that you're just like us? Another sociopath carving up a living in a city that worships money and brute force? You never know, you could be just like me, not like there's anything wrong with that."

Mr. Okajima smiles and stares at Chef Woo, not answering his question. Chef Woo smirks and says "Did you hear about the Japanese Godfather? He made them an offer they couldn't understand." Mr. Okajima simply smiles at Chef Woo and says "See ya." He turns toward the doors of the Asahi skyscraper, leaving his tie on the stool.

Pushing through the glass doors of the Asahi building, Mr. Okajima steps into a large, pristine lobby. He sees a set of double doors on the other side of the lobby, with salary men and salary women scurrying around in the lobby. As he approaches the double doors, he suddenly feels the ground shake as all of the Asahi employees stare at Mr. Okajima. The Asahi employees suddenly approach Mr. Okajima with hostile looks on their faces, as Mr. Okajima breaks off into a sprint. In front of him, blocking the way to the double doors, is Mr. Okajima's manager, Mr. Fujiwara. Mr. Fujiwara stands in front of Mr. Okajima, as the crowd prepares to mob Mr. Okajima. Mr. Okajima opens his briefcase and draws an Uzi submachine gun, aiming the Uzi at Mr. Fujiwara. He sprints, firing the Uzi at Mr. Fujiwara, who is peppered with six shots, four into his torso, one into his left arm, and one into his right thigh. Mr. Fujiwara slides down on the door, leaving a large blood stain on the door. Mr. Okajima pushes through the double doors and shuts the doors behind him, sealing the mob inside.

Turning around, Mr. Okajima spots himself inside the jungle in the Philippines, where he and Ms. Zhao visited to deliver documents to the CIA. He spots a cave on the other end of a path and walks toward it. Suddenly, the ground shakes again, as Extra Order mercenaries and Abu Sayyaf terrorists appear out of the jungle, AK-47s in hand. The two factions open fire on each other, as Mr. Okajima runs through the crossfire and into the cave entrance. Stepping inside the cave, he hears someone approach from behind. Mr. Okajima turns around and unloads his Uzi into a tall, scarred man with a blonde ponytail. The man collapses to the ground, dead, as Mr. Okajima heads into the cave. Traversing the pitch black cave, Mr. Okajima bumps into a metal door, where he finds the doorknob and turns it.

Closing the door behind him, Mr. Okajima steps out of a public bathroom in the Tokyo park that he and Ms. Zhao visited. He spots his former house at the end of the park, directly across from the opposite entrance to the park. Mr. Okajima slowly walks through the empty, desolate park, watching the swings swing without anyone on them. He suddenly sees figures materialize on the swings, revealing themselves to be copies of Ms. Mishima with katanas embedded in their necks. Mr. Okajima slowly walks toward the exit of the park and prepares to cross the street, where the ground shakes once more and he falls on the pavement. As he lies on the pavement, a white van barrels toward him, the van being driven by no one. Mr. Okajima jumps to his feet and runs toward his former home. Mr. Okajima shoots the hinges with his Uzi and knocks the door open, slamming it behind him as he heads inside.

Turning around to face his new surroundings, he realizes that he is in a giant forest in the middle of the night. He spots a sign that says in Japanese kanji and English letters "Aokigahara Forest". Mr. Okajima stumbles through the forest, unable to find his way. He bumps into various trees, the trees several dozen meters high. The ground shakes as he trips over a large root and comes face to face with the corpse of a decayed body. Jolting to his feet, Mr. Okajima clutches onto his suitcase and runs away, getting lost in the forest. Suddenly, the ground shakes again, as he hears a loud thud in the distance. The ground shakes once more, and this time he hears several thuds echo through the forest. Again the ground shakes, the shaking becoming more and more frequent, and the thuds become louder and louder, until he witnesses a tree fall down right in front of him. Panicking, Mr. Okajima vaults over the downed tree, avoiding the trees as the ground shakes in increasing frequency. Suddenly, Mr. Okajima hears a woman yell out 'ROCK!' as he trips on a root and falls to the ground, the ground shaking. 'ROCK!' he hears again, staring face to face with a tree that's about to tip over, the ground shaking. 'ROCK!' he hears once again, as the ground shakes and the tree tips over, falling toward Mr. Okajima. 'ROCK!' he hears a fourth time, as all he could see is the tree freefalling at him.

*SMACK*

Rock opens his eyes, his head throbbing in pain. He nurses the cheek that Revy just slapped. "ROCK! It's about time you woke up! C'mon, tough guy, we got a job to do," Revy says, sitting on a chair by Rock's bed. Rock comes to his senses and looks at Revy, and then at the floor, noticing a bucket by his bed. "What's that bucket doing here?" Rock asks, drowsy, his head in pain.

"It was to make sure that you won't puke on your bed. I slept here, making sure that you weren't going to choke on your vomit. You really went at it in the Yellow Flag, scared the shit out of me," Revy says, smiling. Rock rubs his hair and says "How much did I drink?" Revy's smile turns to a frown as she says "Remember back in Japan, when you were drinking heavily, and I said that you were breathing like a Buick engine? Last night, you were drinking fuel like a Buick engine. ¾ of a large bottle of vodka, drunk in a span of minutes. I was ready to send you to the hospital. Dutch had to convince me that you weren't going to have alcohol poisoning."

Rock sighs and touches his forehead, saying "Sorry about that." He looks around and notices that all his stuff has been set up in his room. "You got all the stuff from the motel back into our studio?" Rock asks, putting on a pair of beige shorts. "Yeah, Dutch and Benny helped while I made sure that you didn't pull a Bon Scott on me," Revy says. Rock looks into her eyes and smiles, saying "I had the craziest dream last night." Revy smirks and says "You and me both." Rock stares at Revy for a second, and then smirks.

As he gets off of his bed, Revy gets off of her chair. Suddenly, the two grab onto each other's shoulders, staring into each other's eyes. "Rock," Revy solemnly says "Look, I am sorry for babying you at the shooting range, and to be honest, after the whole thing with Yukio and Fabiola and Luca and those Papuan pirates, I was worried that you were going to crawl up into a fetal position and cry yourself to death. To be honest, from all those years we've been together, I was worried that you were going to turn into a broken, traumatized fuck. But hey, you surprised me, Rocky baby. And it's nice to know that, since you're one of us now, you are able to handle yourself. Just…try not to get killed, Rock. Cause that would piss me off, and you don't want to piss me off."

Revy smiles and reaches forward, giving Rock a kiss on the lips and a pat on his left shoulder. Rock simply stares at her, smiling. "Something on your mind, Rock?" Revy asks. Rock shakes his head and says "Nothing Revy. I want to get something quick to eat, and then we'll head to work. Who's the client?" "Takahashi again. Just you and me. He says he wants help with cementing a few deals, and wants someone that knows the city. He said that he'll have the details when we'll meet him at his little factory," Revy says. She lets go of Rock and says "I want to freshen up, haven't left this room outside of using the bathroom." Rock nods as he watches Revy leave his room.

Looking down on the ground, he finds Revy's MP3 player, the headphones tangled. Rock picks it up and puts the headphones in his ear, pressing resume. The machine plays near the end of the song "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3.

" _When you woke up this morning, everything was gone. By half past 10, your head was going ding dong. Ringin' like a bell from your head down to your toes. Like some voice tryin' to tell you 'There's somethin' you should know'. Last night you was flyin' but today you're so low. Ain't it times like these, makes you wonder if you'll ever know. The meaning of things as they appear to the others. Wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. Don't you wish you didn't function. Don't you wish you didn't think, beyond the next paycheck and the next little drink. Well you do so make up your mind to go on. 'Cause when you woke up this morning, everything you had was gone,"_ the lyrics play out in the MP3 player, ringing through Rock's ears.

Rock heaves a sigh and stares at his M9, lying on his desk.

" _Woke up this mornin', when ya woke up this mornin'. Woke up this mornin'. Ya, woke up this mornin'. Woke up this mornin', ya wanna be…ya wanna be, the chosen one. Ye you know it cause, ah, ya just can't help yourself, yeah,"_ the MP3 player continues to play, his head ringing in pain. Rock takes a step towards the M9. He stares at the pistol, and grabs it. Rock holsters his M9 into his shorts and nods to himself, saying "Yeah…I understand."


	6. Thai Hail

"I thought you said that you wouldn't wear that Hawaiian shirt in public," Revy comments, noticing Rock in the Hawaiian shirt that she gave him two years ago. The two sit in their Town Car, with Revy at the wheel and Rock sitting shotgun, about to leave the garage.

"It was between that and a dress shirt that looked like the one I used to wear. I found a spare in the laundry. I wore the plaid dress shirt for a week already and it is starting to smell of sweat. I figured it was either the plain dress shirt or this Hawaiian shirt, and I couldn't tell which one Takahashi would take more seriously," Rock responds, pulling a lighter out of his pants pocket. He pulls a Natural Spirit cigarette from a pack and lights it, arcing his head back, still reeling from his hangover. "I do have to go shopping for clothes soon, that is certain," Rock adds.

"Good thing you picked the Hawaiian shirt. I'm getting used to you not looking like Matt Foley," Revy snickers, turning the keys on the ignition. "I'm not getting a new tie. Roanapur is way too humid for that, that's for sure. And since I'm carrying a gun, tucking my shirt into my belt would make no sense, so I just have my shirts cover my waistline. I'm just unsure of whether I should have worn that white dress shirt or keep this Hawaiian shirt. Takahashi most likely worked in corporate before, and I rather make an impression. At the same time, this is a Hawaiian shirt, so maybe this is what passes for formal attire over there," Rock clarifies. "Rock, the guy is from fucking Hawaii. I don't know much about Hawaii, but from what I have heard, people there don't exactly give a shit about formal attire. You're fine Rock, calm the fuck down," Revy responds, stepping on the gas pedal.

Rock rolls down the passenger window and knocks ash onto the street, his eyes on the passing stores and buildings. "So, why all the fucking attention to detail? Thinking of jumping ship and working for Pinky and the Brain?" Revy asks in a teasing tone. "Very funny Revy. I just remember how me talking Takahashi down possibly saved us a contract, and who knows when we'll get commissioned for a job again. I may have mentioned this already, but Takahashi reminds me of a couple of my supervisors. For the details that I admire him for, I still realize that he is extremely fickle and a bit narrow minded. I don't want us to lose this commission, because I am sure Dutch would be angry," Rock responds, clarifying his reasons.

"Ha, Dutch? Dutch gets a $1,000 bonus on every job we get commissioned for, up front. He mentioned how he has someone that he has money wired to, someone that I don't know and that he trusts. If the job goes well or if the client cancels, he keeps the grand as something extra for being the boss. And that includes the jobs that he willingly lets his employees work outside his supervision. Which was pretty convenient when that prick Chin tried to have us killed. I'm sure that had Chin not given Dutch that grand up front, Dutch wouldn't have treated us for drinks at the Yellow Flag. So yeah, Dutch will be fine in the short term," Revy comments. Thinking for a second, she says "Although in the case of the long term…yea, I get what you're saying now, Rocky."

"Dutch gets a $1,000 up front? I never knew that," Rock says with a surprised look on his face. "Yeah…wait. You didn't know? After all this time?" Revy asks with a surprised look of her own. "I heard Dutch and Benny mention something about money up front at times, but I thought it was for special contracts that Dutch managed to muscle out, and that it was money for all four of us. The customer usually has the advantage when hiring Black Lagoon Company, given how slow business could be for us, so I just assumed. Although, given the costs for repairs, food, and fuel, that is a very smart business practice," Rock says, nodding in approval of his bosses' business savvy.

Passing an intersection, Revy remarks "And that's why he's the boss and we just do what he tells us to do." Rock blinks and says "Yea, yea." The two pause for a second until Revy breaks the silence "So Rock, about that dossier that Eda had, the one about me. What else was in it?" Rock pauses for a second and responds "I only looked at the information in the beginning, the one where it was a profile of you. I looked at matching dates and places, that was it. All I gathered from the dossier was about what happened to you in jail and what happened to your father. So yes, all of these stories about what you did in America are news to me."

Revy blinks and replies "Alright so maybe that was one of the things on my mind, but was the dossier something that Eda compiled personally or was it something that the CIA put together?" Rock chuckles and answers "I highly doubt that the CIA would care about us outside of that courier job we did for them. Eda herself blabbed that her job was to get an information stream from contacts in Roanapur about potential terrorist threats. Contacts like Mister Chang, for example. Nah, it seems like that dossier was one of the files that Eda kept on the people of Roanapur. Your dossier was handwritten. So was Luca's. The writing on Luca's dossier was still very dark when I saw it, which means that she put it together pretty recently. Maybe called in favors, CIA or otherwise, but the whole thing with Luca and Eda had nothing to do with the CIA."

Revy heaves a sigh of relief and says "Are you sure about that? I mean, I saw the news about the Iran-Contra fuck-up live. I know that the CIA has been involved with drug smuggling before. I just want to know that the cocaine that Eda got from Luca…was it a CIA fundraiser or some-shit or was it Eda making a quick buck?" Rock thinks for a few seconds and replies "It was just Eda, I'm sure of it. I heard her mumble to herself, saying 'Finally struck jackpot and can have my retirement fund secured, so if this slippery Jap thinks he would cost me my millions…' At that point she stopped and realized that I have been listening to her rant. So yes, Eda is not going to go after us because she wouldn't have CIA backing if she did. She doesn't want to cause any more noise that could bring attention to her retirement package."

Revy nods in relief and says "Good…fucking good. I figured that even if I did clip Eda, her friends in Langley wouldn't go after us unless we were a threat to America, but there are some craps tables that you think twice before you toss the dice. Speaking of which, hell of a risk you took in confronting her. If the coke was actually for the CIA, she would have clipped you immediately, then Lagoon Company for insurance, and would have resumed to business as usual." Rock turns to Revy and says "Eda was willing to run around at night, shooting Hansel and Gretal for a bounty. And the way she conned Jane? I am surprised that they haven't pulled her back to America and replaced her with someone else, because she clearly doesn't seem to care about her actual job."

Looking at the car radio, Rock reaches for the dial and turns the volume on. The radio is tuned to a French rap station, as the song "Dangereux" by IAM plays.

The radio plays, as Revy takes a right turn, cutting into the industrial sector of Roanapur.

"Hey, Rock, do you understand what the hell they are saying? I don't speak French," Revy asks, eyes on the road. "Neither do I, but the song sounds unique. I don't mind it," Rock replies. "Ehh, I ain't exactly a fan of this hippy-hop shit. Especially when I don't understand what they are fucking saying," Revy replies.

" _I am dangerous,"_  the lyrics bounce off in Revy's head."Finally some fucking English in the song," Revy adds.

"So, how much is Takahashi paying us?" Rock turns to Rock and says "Beats me, we'll find out soon." "I wonder why he wants our help in cementing deals. Maybe it's someone we know? Hotel Moscow? Triads?" Rock speculates.

"Doubt it is Hotel Moscow, and the Triads were the ones that 'incentivized' Takahashi to settle his meth business here in Roanapur. Takahashi and Chang have already been in contact from what Songxie suggested, so he doesn't need us for any negotiations. Must be someone we haven't thought of," Revy answers, when a thought hits her head. "Better not be fucking Eda and her church, or there will be problems," Revy comments, thinking of possible scenarios. "If it is Eda, then Takahashi better not be paying shit," Revy adds, as the Town Car passes a construction site. As the song begins to fade out and a new one begins, Revy adds "Rock, can you switch the radio to some real fucking music? Fuck, where do you find these radio stations?" Rock smirks and replies "I've been shuffling through the radio lately. I've been surprised by the variety of music here."

The Town Car reaches a large factory surrounded by a concrete fence with barbwire on top. The factory connects to a four floor office building that is right past it. On the streets, all available parking has been taken up, aside from a parking space that has a red X marked on it in chalk, the X right next to the gated entrance. "I guess we are parking here," Revy comments as she skillfully parks the car between a white, unmarked truck and a grey van that says "Takahashi Bakery and Confectionary, The Taste of the Pacific!" Stepping out of the Town Car, Revy and Rock slam the doors to their car. While Rock puts out his cigarette on the pavement, Revy locks the car, and the two walk toward the gated entrance. On the other side of the fence, a tall, muscular, black man, sporting a shaved head and a thin goatee, and wearing a jersey, slowly walks toward the gate. The man's jersey, which on closer examination is revealed to be a blue jersey with white lettering, the lettering showing the number 10, shines in the sunlight. The man is wearing camouflage colored cargo pants and white tennis shoes, and has a stainless steel watch on his right wrist.

"Eyy! You Revy and Rock? Le patron (the boss) is waiting," the man says in a thick French accent. Revy nods as the man opens the gate and pushes it to the side. "Suivez moi (follow me)," the man adds, turning his back to Rock and Revy. The back of his jersey says 'Zidane' in white lettering. Revy and Rock step into the factory grounds and follow the man, with Revy asking "What's your name?" The man turns his head around, still walking, and says "Reynolds. Laurent Reynolds." Revy interrupts and asks "You from France, Reynolds? You got an accent." Reynolds nods and replies "Oui (yes), born and raised in a shitty ghetto north of Paris. I got a Jamaican grandfather named Reynolds, which is where I got my last name. My father's family came from Haiti and my mother's family all came from the Republic of Congo. So oui, if you care, I'm a Haitian Congolese Frenchman with some Jamaican blood that is working for a Japanese Hawaiian businessman and a Chinese smuggler in Southern Thailand. Try saying that three times faster." Revy sports a confused look and says "I wasn't exactly asking for your fucking family tree, but thanks I guess."

Reynolds walks toward a rear exit to the office building, facing a metal door. Reaching for a key and inserting it into the doorknob, Reynolds remarks "J'aime bien bavarder (I love to chat), I'm a bit of a chatterbox." Opening the door, he adds "Up one flight of stairs, first office on the right. Before the water cooler, hard to miss."

Revy and Rock step into the ornery concrete stairwell, spotting the entrance to a hallway on the right and the rear of a flight of stairs on the left. The two walk toward the flight of stairs and climb several steps to a flat plane and a fenced window, and then climb another set of steps to the second floor. They spot a doorway in front of them, with a wooden door held open using a wooden wedge. The two walk through the doorway into a hallway of doors, the walls painted beige as the floor tiles are colored brown. The hallway is lit by fluorescent ceiling lights as a water cooler sits by a wall. A short man dressed in a Hawaiian shirt steps out of an office with a clipboard. The man, fat and balding with tiny glasses, stares at Rock and Revy for a few seconds, and then casually turns to his side. The fat man calmly walks through an opening in the wall on the left, appearing to be another hallway.

"This place almost reminds me of my high school," Rock blurts out, staring at the water cooler. The two turn toward the door to Takahashi's office, with Revy knocking twice. "Who's this?" Takahashi mutters from beyond the door. "Hawaii 5-0," Revy sarcastically replies. She turns the knob of the door and steps inside. "Very cute," Takahashi snarls back, dressed in a brown and white striped dress shirt tucked inside a set of black slacks that are held up by a black leather belt. Seated behind his desk, he folds his arms on the desk, his black and white diamond patterned tie almost blocked by his hands. Inside his office, Revy and Rock could spot a slightly disorganized desk with piles of paper that, due to the neat positioning of the stacks, may just be stacked in order. To the wall on the left, Rock and Revy could spot a diploma that says 'University of Hawaii, College of Business Administration'. At the bottom of the diploma, it says 'Bachelors in Marketing'. On the wall on the right, Revy and Rock notice an array of cabinet drawers, cardboard boxes, and a Japanese katana in its sheath, the katana pinned to the wall.

Approaching Takahashi, Rock extends his hands and says "Hello, we are here for the job you commission us for." Takahashi replies, shaking Rock's hand "Yes, I know. Hello as well. Take a seat, I'll need to fish out a piece of paper and a pen." Revy and Rock seat themselves by a pair of chairs facing across from Takahashi as Takahashi opens a drawer and fumbles through it. He pulls out a blank sheet of printing paper and grabs a nearby pen. "Normally, I would have my partner Songxie do this, since he has lived in Roanapur and knows these people. However, it appears to me that the man considers John Dewar a better partner then yours truly. Now, I am not sure on how to pronounce their names, so I will write their names and addresses down together on paper," Takahashi remarks. After a minute of transcribing from a piece of scrap paper, Takahashi raises the page of printer paper up and says "Going with given name first and surname last, Mongkut Kukrit, Kaeo Tangwongsan (he says with some difficulty), and…here's my best shot…Tinsulaananda Phatipatanawong. The first and last are male, the second is female. All three are local Thai mafia chieftains that I wish to employ as distributors for my methamphetamine. Do you know these people?"

Revy grabs the piece of printer paper and calls out "Never met Mongkut in my life but I heard a rumor about him once in a blue moon. Kaeo and I are acquainted. And Tinsul…that…" Revy struggles to keep her composure and not ruin their commission. "Well, the two of us have met before," Revy forces herself to say. After looking at a confused Rock, Revy turns toward Takahashi and asks "What you want us to do? Shove the crystal up our noses to show that the shit works?"

"Excuse me? I don't have junkies representing my business and my brand to potential clients and partners!" Takahashi exclaims, mildly angry. Calming himself down, he continues "No, I just want you two to negotiate with them. I am going to give you 9 pounds of the meth that we concocted during our retreat from Port Moresby. That is 3 pounds each, in three separated packages. I want you to sell the packages for exactly $90,000 each. I am going for $30,000 a pound here. If you can sell the first package for more, you can pocket the difference and use that price as a benchmark, but make sure that all three packages are sold for the same price. I don't want one of my distributors to suddenly call me in the middle of the night, furious that they have been sold for more than the others. The difference will be on top of $2,000 for each successful negotiation."

Revy bursts out laughing and remarks "$30,000 a fucking pound? Sorry Tak, but no one is going to pay that much cash when the rest of Thailand and nearby Myanmar is pumping out crystal like piss from a drunk. I don't know the street price for meth in Bangkok, but your shit has to have more kick then Colombian blow mixed with pure fucking adrenaline if you expect us to sell at $30,000 a pound."

Takahashi glares at Revy and replies with an annoyed tone "My…shit…is very, very potent. I have a marketing degree from the University of Hawaii, as you have noticed. I understand market share and how to wrestle it away from the competition. My product is differentiated, unique, and much superior to whatever garbage that Bangkok and Rangoon is making. Meth has been regarded as 'poor man's cocaine', but what my team of chemists has created would put Colombian white powder to shame. So yes, I am expecting $30,000 per pound and if these clients would be convinced to distribute for me, they would realize that my asking price is a bargain. And it better be in American currency, not Thai baht. In light of the ongoing depression, the Thai baht has been taking a massive hit."

Revy solemnly stares at Takahashi with a humbled look on her face. "Is it really that pure?" she asks. Takahashi smiles, adjusts his glasses, and nods, saying "Yes, it is pure. We have certified it to be at least 94%, with some batches reaching 98% purity. Some more practice and experience would get my chemists to reach 98% consistently…to be on the cusp of the 'forth sigma' so to speak. Crystal meth was discovered by Japanese chemists in the early 1900s. It is Japan's contribution to the international underground, so to speak. In the 40s and 50s, crystal meth quite literally powered the labor force of Japan, as it was given to industrial workers in order to squeeze more productivity out of them. That was the same labor force that saw the rise of the Japanese auto industry, when the Korean War stimulated the NATO demand for military vehicles from a then relatively obscure company called Toyota. And during WW2, millions of pills containing crystal meth were administered to both Allied and Axis soldiers, from tank crewmen to bomber pilots. When the Ministry of Health in Japan banned the narcotic, it became a source of revenue for the Yakuza through the black market. Now, I am simply producing and selling a product that is as ethnically Japanese and as popular internationally as the floppy disk and Toyota."

Revy replies with an impressed look on her face, most of her concerns removed. Rock snickers to himself over how a man just put Toyota, the floppy disk, and crystal meth in the same category convincingly. He observes Takahashi's facial expression, noticing a sense of pride in selling meth. Out of curiosity, he asks "I saw the grocery that you purchased, plus your vans. I would assume that the factory next to us is where the production takes place. You are selling baked goods and sweets alongside your meth, as a front. My question is…are you selling bread and candy to fund your meth operation, or is it the other way around?"

"Good question," Takahashi replies, thinking to himself. After a pause, he answers "I would like to imagine that I am doing both at the same time, but that would become clear once we complete our first cash conversion cycle. The bread and candy venture will be useful for laundering the money from the sale of shabu, but I also plan to expand my legitimate business before my illegitimate business. I am currently in talks with Thai TV studios on getting a commercial for my bakery and confectionary business, a 30 second spot would suffice. Naturally, I cannot do the same for 'Takahashi Methamphetamine'."

"I used to work for Asahi Heavy Industries, back in Tokyo. Resource investigation and procurement, basically all the way upstream in the supply chain. Asahi Heavy Industries sourced their material from Europe and South America. We sourced the energy for our production from Finland, Latvia, and Estonia, aluminum and bauxite from Venezuela and Colombia, and steel from Brazil. I made trips to our suppliers in all of those countries in order to inspect their facilities and ensure that they could sustain a steady supply. It was a pain in the ass, really, since we had so many suppliers because upper management wanted to be on the 'safe side'," Rock comments, as Revy slouches in her chair, bored.

Takahashi's interest level suddenly spikes as he asks "You worked for Asahi Heavy Industries? They manufactured tanker ships for civilian use and military vessels for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, right?" Rock nods and adds "Amongst other things. They have naval contracts with foreign governments, such as South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam. It was a clandestine contract with one of those countries, probably Vietnam, which led me to turn pirate. I was supposed to deliver a data disk that would grant a nation nuclear capability, probably a nuclear submarine of sorts. My partner Revy and the rest of Black Lagoon intercepted the ship I stowed myself on, and the rest is a very long story."

"Interesting, I never knew Asahi Heavy Industries would engage in such risky activities. Thanks for the tip, I had several thousand dollars worth of shares tied up with that company. Looks like I better sell them off. Shame really, since they are a really resilient company in the face of this ongoing Asia-wide depression," Takahashi remarks, pleased with the nugget of information that Rock imparted. A concerned look on Rock's face appears as he speaks out "It goes without saying that this is between the three of us. They already sent a hit squad to kill me. They obviously failed, but if they are ready to kill to shut people up, then they are extremely desperate to keep this a secret." Takahashi smiles and says "I have nothing to gain from bankrupting the company, and besides, I rather not deal with unwanted attention. I have enough trouble keeping my suppliers from asking me as to why I opened shop in a city run by narcotics."

"Who are your suppliers?" Rock asks. Takahashi stares at Rock uncomfortably for a second, and then replies "I have a contract with a sugar grower in Hawaii. I have a bottling company in Vanuatu that is supplying me with water from the source. I have another bottling company in Japan, in Yamanashi Prefecture, which is selling me mineral water, as a substitute in case something happens to my supplier in Vanuatu. Lastly, I have a wheat producer in Miyagi Prefecture that is supplying me with…well wheat. Other inputs to the candy and bakery business come from a variety of local Thai sources."

"What about your sources for the meth production?" Rock further inquires. Takahashi smiles and replies "Well, since you are so curious, and since you have saved me from some unforeseen risk in the stock market, I will tell you. Mr. Chang helped me set this facility up and connect me with the right people, but my main benefactor is a Mexican drug cartel that is based in Western Mexico. Mostly in Sonora, Durango, Sinaloa, but they are spreading fast. Chang introduced me to them, as he is one of their biggest suppliers of heroin. They wanted a meth facility without associating themselves with the risk of maintaining it, so they have me run it in a foreign country and have the product shipped to Mexico. There, they either sell it in Mexico or smuggle it into America. After each export into Mexico, they load the chemicals necessary for synthesizing the product onto the boat that they receive, and that boat returns for the next production run. We needed materials from Papua New Guinea because they want a large batch first, before they will send us the necessary ingredients for the next batches. Their enemies have a much harder job in destroying a drug lab when it is an ocean away from them, and so my clients/suppliers get peace of mind and I make a profit. Don't think that these negotiations with these Thai gangsters aren't important to me, however. There is money to made right here in Roanapur and I don't want to leave it on the table."

All three enter a silent pause, which Takahashi breaks by saying "The three meth packages are in the adjacent factory. I'll give you a tour." As Takahashi gets from his seat, Revy and Rock follow suit. Rock looks at Takahashi display sword and asks "Is that a real katana?" Takahashi chuckles and says "Real as in an actual sword? Yes, got a cut on my left thumb to prove it. Real as in having any historical value? No, purchased it as a souvenir in Akita, when I visited the place for the Akita Kanto festival." Rock nods and says "Interesting, looks authentic enough."

The three walk out of the office, with Takahashi taking lead. Takahashi turns right and Rock and Revy follow. Suddenly, they find out where the man with the clipboard disappeared to. On their left, a long hallway extends through the center of the building and into a bridge that carries over to the nearby factory. The three traverse the hallway as the sound of cabinet drawers opening is replaced with the droning noise of automated machinery. Entering the factory, the three of them stand on a metal walkway as below them and in front of them, an assembly line churns out baked goods. Various people wearing gloves and 'Takahashi Bakery and Confectionary' caps sort through a variety of donuts, croissants, pies, and other baked goods as they pass on an assembly line.

"Here it is, one of the hearts of Takahashi Industries. This assembly line may not look like much now but…maybe one day, I could be supplying all of Southeast Asia with fine bread and sweets," Takahashi blurts out, surveying the factory. He suddenly turns his attention to an overweight man in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans, the man on the ground floor. "Aloha Satele! Everything going well here, Kaimana?" Takahashi yells out, gripping onto the guardrail. Kaimana Satele turns around, revealing himself to have a five O' clock shadow and short, black hair combed back. The man has light-brown skin, faded eyebrows, and Asiatic facial features. "Yeah boss, we are on pace for the first production run, even making time to spare!" Satele yells back, placing his hands on his mouth as if to make a makeshift megaphone. Takahashi gives Satele a 'thumbs up' gesture and turns to Rock and Revy.

"The drug packages are downstairs. Follow me," Takahashi commands, as Revy and Rock follow. They walk down a metal staircase and onto the assembly floor. Meanwhile, outside the factory, a bluish green Chevy Tahoe with windows that have been put together using scotch tape pulls up next to Revy's and Rock's Town Car. The driver, Songxie Tong, stumbles out, dressed in the same clothes as in Port Moresby, holding an opened bottle of Dewar's White Label scotch. Songxie takes a long swig of scotch and approaches the back of the Town Car. "Son bitch take parking spot? You fuck!" the Chinese snakehead drunkenly swears, smashing the mostly empty bottle of scotch on the trunk. Suddenly, a drunken smirk cracks across Songxie's face.

"Ey! Reynolds!" Songxie yells through the fence, his fingers gripping the chain links. Reynolds walks toward the gate and replies "Bonjour Songxie, eyy…you okay there? Had too much to drink? Maybe take a seat? Mon dieu (My god), how the fuck you got here in one piece?" Songxie yells back "Fuck sitting! I need…dà chuí (sledgehammer)! Hai, hai (yes, yes), a…sledgehammer!" Reynolds stares at Songxie with a perplexed and incredulous look on his face. "…What?" is all that Reynolds could blurt out. Songxie slams the palm of his right hand on the chain-link gate, angrily yelling "Give me sledgehammer! Now, it order! Order!" Reynolds extends his right hand out, gesturing 'Stop', saying "Now…now. You're being an imbécile (imbecile). Just take a seat and sober up." Songxie responds with a silent glare as he tilts his head to the right and eyeballs Reynolds. Reynolds heaves a sigh and says "Fine, as you order."

Back inside the factory, James Apuna drops three packages of crystal meth on the assembly floor, each package of crystal meth inside a thick plastic bag sealed at one end. Each bag is see through, revealing shattered chunks of what looks like glass shards. "Easy there Apuna, we don't want the bags tearing open!" Takahashi yells out. "Sorry boss," Apuna replies, rubbing his right wrist with his left hand. Rock grabs one of the packages and stares at them, the package revealing a shattered reflection of Rock's face. Meanwhile, Revy stares at an assembly line of glazed donuts, her nose attracted to the scent of baked bread running past her. "You want a try?" Takahashi asks, as both Revy and Rock look up, confused as to who he is talking to. Rock decides to keep his mouth shut as Revy asks "The donuts?" Takahashi stares with an expression that says 'You got to be kidding me' and replies "No…the ice. Of course the donuts!" "Alright, alright! Is it okay if I grab one?" Revy replies, her stomach starting to growl. "Go ahead, just grab whichever one you want. Sweet bread that's fresh off the assembly line tastes like a fine French pastry, at least that's what Reynolds said. I never went to France, so I cannot speak on that matter," Takahashi comments, as Revy grabs a donut with her left hand. Biting into it, she says "Damn, fucker is still hot. Not bad…not bad. You make bagels too?" Takahashi nods as Revy finishes half of her donut. Revy nods to herself in approval and says "I might give those a try. Thanks."

Back outside, Reynolds drags a sledgehammer along the ground with his right hand and opens the gate to the factory with his left. Shaking his head in apprehension, he hands Songxie the sledgehammer. Songxie stares at Reynolds with the look of someone zeroing in on a kill and says "Thanks". He turns his attention toward the Town Car and starts at the trunk of the car. He pauses for a while, as if planning his next set of actions through his drunken rage, and then suddenly spits on the trunk side window. His saliva starts sliding down the bulletproof glass window as he arcs the sledgehammer by his back. Gripping tightly on the wooden shaft, Songxie eyes his saliva as a bullseye and swings the sledgehammer up in the air. Driving the sledgehammer onto the window, Songxie shatters the layer of glass on the bulletproof window but fails to penetrate the plastic center, leaving behind a thick, white cobweb of broken glass on the window. Realizing that the windows are bulletproof, he smirks and winds up the sledgehammer again. "STEAL PARKING SPOT? DIU NEI LO LEN MO! YAT CHEW! (Fuck your fucking mother! Go to hell!)" Songxie swears at the top of his voice, leaving another mesh of broken glass on the rear window.

"Again, I thank you for the tip on Asahi. Now I can put my money into something less risky," Takahashi reiterates as Rock carries a bag of meth on his left shoulder and Revy carries a bag of meth on each of her shoulders. "It's nothing. The layout is interesting here. Where is the shabu produced?" Rock replies. Takahashi pauses for a second in thought and replies "Across the street from this conjoined factory/office, there is another factory for the candy I make. Also inside that facility, I have a lab where my team of chemists periodically cooks batches of meth. We break the shabu and place it into bags of various sizes. We then plan to hide the shabu inside our bread and candy shipments. Though we obviously have yet to distribute locally, we are already ready for our first shipment to Culiacan, Sinaloa."

Surveying the layout of the facility, Rock inquires further "So, are you using a push method or a pull method here? I'd imagine that you cannot stockpile bread as inventory given its limited lifespan." Revy quietly whispers "What the fuck are you talking about?" as Takahashi smiles and indulges in Rock's inquiry. "Sadly, the lean approach doesn't have much use in the drug trade, given that you almost never have narcotics taking up much space in inventory, even with blind production. As you know, lean supply chains cause a reduction in inventories, which drives down holding costs and allows any issues in production to be nipped in the bud. However, the demand for meth will never go down, even if we have to find a new distributer, so our inventories and associated costs are small to begin with. As such, we just produce as much as we can, since the cartel in Culiacan can take pretty much any level of shipment that we could churn out at current capacity, and more so want as much shabu as possible. Furthermore, we have a dockyard in Roanapur, the one where we arrived to from Port Moresby. That dockyard doubles as the only actual warehouse my organization has and needs, and I did purchase it from Ms. Balalaika anyway, so there aren't any leasing costs. And since we have to wash our money as it comes into our hands, I decided to use a push method for my legal goods as well. Our role as a supplier to the cartel in Culiacan would mean that any excess inventory in our legal products would be shipped along with the meth on our boats, to hide the shabu from any Mexican Coast Guard inspections. The Culiacan cartel agreed to purchase my legal goods if necessary, so long as I make my meth cheaper during those occasions. I just hope the Mexicans like croissants and donuts," Takahashi answers.

Rock nods once, and then says "I see your logic, but why go through the effort in hiding the drug lab? Virtually every police officer in Roanapur is open to taking bribes." Takahashi replies with an annoyed glare, saying "I am already going to pay my taxes to the Thai government. I will not be a victim of extortion by the police! And furthermore, I am simply a businessman that is producing an illicit good for sale. The only blood that has been on my hands has been clearly shed in self-defense, as seen with those Papuan pirates. I came to Roanapur to make money with the expectation that my hands will only be slightly dirtied. If I start bribing the police, my hands will not just be dirty, they will be submerged in mud!"

Rock simply stares at Takahashi and replies with "I…see." Revy proceeds to start snickering, which annoys Takahashi even further. "I just spent the last few minutes talking about lean supply chain and my principled approach to business, and throughout all of it, I fail to see what is so DAMNED FUNNY?"

Revy suddenly alters her voice into a mockingly restrained and formal tone. "Oh yes boss! According to these squiggly shit lines, Bullshit Incorporated has grown in market share. We now can proudly say that we own 46% of the production of bullshit. In other news, our competitor Fuckface and Daughters Incorporated has suffered a major scandal in upper management, in which the CSO, or Chief Shitting Officer, was caught using corporate funds to pay for his addiction to hardcore animated pornography of farm animals fucking each other in the ass all while screaming in Japanese. Such revelation has caused an 11% drop in stock price for Fuckface and Daughters. This has all been part of a day of trading more wild then the annual ladyboy orgy at the Cabinet of Thailand! While for three days prior, the bear has been taking it up the ass from the bull, it now seems that the bull has given the bear the sweet courtesy of a reach-around!"

Rock suddenly bursts out in hysterical laughter as Takahashi himself slightly chuckles. Fighting through the laughter, Takahashi says "It's…like you have a slight idea of what you are talking about and at the same time, not the faintest idea at all. And so you are able use what little you know to make it sound very convincing, had it not been for the profanity and the sexual innuendos. That is a very useful skill, one that will take you very far in the business world."

Suddenly, a confused look takes over Takahashi's face as he raises his eyebrow and tilts his head like an iguana. "Speaking of succeeding in corporate America while being incompetent…or more likely having nothing to do with it, what is that thumping sound? Do you hear that? It appears on and off," Takahashi asks, sniffing the air as if he is looking for a gas leak. "Argh! Everyone! I am shutting down the line for a minute!" Takahashi yells and pulls a nearby lever, causing the factory to creak to a halt. The sound continues to persist, only now Takahashi has zeroed in on the location. "It seems to be coming from outside. Let me get to the bottom of this," Takahashi comments, heading toward a rear exit as Rock and Revy follow, drug packages in hand.

Rock, Revy, and Takahashi exit the factory to find a drunk, belligerent Chinese lunatic standing on the roof of the Town Car, slamming a sledgehammer onto the bulletproof windows. "Oh this has to be a joke," Takahashi mutters as Revy stares in stunned disbelief that is slowly condensing into great vengeance and furious anger. As Revy slowly approaches the Town Car and Songxie, Songxie turns around and comes face to face with the owners of the car. Suddenly, a beaming, smug grin grows on Songxie's face as he is swelled with a deep sense of satisfaction over the mess he just made. He smugly tosses the sledgehammer onto the pavement, the metal end of the sledgehammer clanging on the asphalt, and hops off the car. Songxie stands face to face with Revy and says "Have nice day, johk-sing (American born Chinese)." He casually walks past Revy, Rock and Takahashi on his way to the factory, laughing to himself as he strolls along.

Suddenly, Revy finds herself able to speak, Songxie's back to her. "You…retarded…Chinglish…limp dick cunty cock-dock MOTHERFUCKER! COME HERE YOU MALIGNANT CUNT! I GOT YOUR FIFTY FUCKING DOLLARS RIGHT HERE! BERETTA HAS YOUR ULYSSES GRANT ONE TRIGGER PULL AWAY, FUCKFACE!" Revy drops her drug packages to the ground and reaches for the Cutlasses in her tracksuit, only to be restrained by Rock. After fidgeting in Rock's grasp for a few seconds, she breaks free and spits at Songxie's general direction. Looking for something to toss at Songxie, she reaches for one of the drug packages and picks it up. As she prepares to toss the package, Rock pries the package out of her grasp and Takahashi yells "Woah, woah! Excuse me! If you toss that package and the crystal shatters on the ground…you will owe me $90,000 at a 10% annual interest rate! I don't think that you would want to owe me that kind of money, so I suggest that you get with your GODDAMNED ASSIGNMENT and not ruin my product! Go! Go! I will talk to Songxie, but you better do the job that I commissioned you for! And I am giving you one chance for this. While you exceeded my expectations before, this is unacceptable behavior!"

"Unacceptable be-fucking-havior? Who the fuck is going to pay for the new windows?" Revy yells out at Takahashi, as Rock whispers into her ear "Not here, not now. Let's get the job done, then we'll see what happens next." Revy growls at Rock, and then stares at Takahashi, and finally restrains her rage and says "Fine, fucking whatever. Let's fucking get out of here, Rock."

Rock and Revy toss their drug packages into the trunk of the car and slam the trunk shut. The two return to their original seats in the Town Car, only this time all of the windows are full of glass-crushing impact sites. "Fuck, I can't see shit with all of this crushed glass…" Revy curses, and then rolls down the window. She turns on the ignition and speeds away. "So, who are we meeting first?" Rock asks, trying to calm Revy down and get her focused on the job. "Crazy Adeyemi, that's who we are seeing," Revy answers. "Who? That wasn't one of the names," Rock inquires, confused. "No, it's fucking not, but guess fucking what? I can't drive this piece of fucking shit with the windows being fucked up, so I'm going to see a mechanic that can unfuck this fucked car, and maybe Chinglish-proof it as well," Revy angrily, swears.

"Who's Adeyemi?" Rock asks as Revy sticks her head out of driver-side window before making a left turn. "Some Nigerian mechanic, Benny referred him to me, said he helped make repairs on his car. Told me the guy is handy with a wrench, just one of those eccentric fucks. Guy is part of the Nigerian mafia and works with Chang. I don't really give a shit, as long as he could fix this car up nice and fast," Revy answers, growing frustrated as she continues to drive.

Curious, Rock asks "Nigerian mafia? How many criminal organizations are in Thailand? There's the Takahashi Syndicate, Hotel Moscow, Sun Yee On Triads, Colombian Cartel…formerly the 'Ndrangheta and the Cosa Nostra. Who else?"

Revy pauses to navigate around a grey sedan that is in double parking. Successfully navigating around it, she says "The Nigerian Mafia doesn't really have much influence here in Roanapur. They are more so in Bangkok, where they help Chang smuggle his heroin into Africa. There was this large migration of Nigerians into the country, and a few of them came here to make a quick buck, but that is in Bangkok. So are the Triads, though Chang and the Sun Yee On obviously operate from Roanapur. Chang's rivals, the 14K Triads, are also in Bangkok, where they back the Red Wa, whom I'll get to in a second. The Korean mafia is also in Bangkok, where they work with Hotel Moscow on the opium trade. Now those fuckers are scary. The Koreans are run by this guy named Yong-sun Baek, who is just as fucking crazy as Balalaika is. And that's it for the 'foreign' mafias in Thailand. As for any Thai, Burmese, and Vietnamese groups, things can also get complicated. Roanapur has a few local isolated mafia chiefs here, like the people we are meeting later on. Basically they run street gangs, distribute drugs, collect gambling debts, maybe lean on people for the other mafias. In the rest of Thailand, that's a slightly different story though. The Jao Pho are a collection of Thai mafias that get involved in politics, extortion, that type of thing. They aren't important in Roanapur and they don't pay attention to it. The Red Wa are a bunch of Burmese mobsters and 'freedom fighters' that make Thailand's beloved crystal meth. Now, the Red Wa are not in Roanapur for two reasons. One, Myanmar is on the otherside of Thailand, which is partially why Roanapur is one of the few cities in Thailand that Thais are a minority, with the Vietnamese being the most common people in Roanapur. Two, Chang used to operate in Bangkok, and the Red Wa and the Sun Yee On Triads had a giant clusterfuck of a gang war that lasted for a few years. Eventually, the two groups formed a truce and Chang moved his business to Roanapur. He was allowed to keep a few rackets in Bangkok but that was it, and the Red Wa agreed to ignore Roanapur. So now, he has the Nigerian mafia do the smuggling in Bangkok for him, and so the two groups are pretty close."

"Interesting, I did not know that," Rock comments, staring at the crushed glass on the windows. "What about that Albanian man that visited Ronnie the Jaws? The one that was looking for Ali Daga or something like that?" Rock further inquires. "Oh him? I think he was just a random gangster on vacation to Thailand. My sources told me that he asked for help but couldn't get any, so went back to Tirana. Now that you mentioned it though, D-Company, one of the mafias that the Albanian asked for help, has some pull in Western Thailand. They are the Indian mafia, I forgot about them. Well, they used to be part of D-Company, until D-Company split into a Muslim and Hindu faction after the 1993 Mumbai Bombings. So that group in Thailand is just called the 'Indian mafia' and work with the Hindu Indian mafia in Mumbai. If they have any connections to Roanapur, aside from maybe an associate running a poker game, it would be news to me. And if you are wondering, no, the Vietnamese don't have an organized mafia here. A lot of Vietnamese do run rackets here, though, working for the other mafias. Like Bao and that brothel he has in the upper floors of the Yellow Flag. So yeah, that's pretty much Thai organized crime in a nutshell," Revy concludes, stopping in front of a red light.

Revy suddenly starts cracking up, saying "You know what's funny? On the topic of all the groups here? The two of us, me being Chinese and from America, and you being Japanese, would be treated like fucking royalty by the upper class in heartland Thailand. The Thais have a very fucking weird form of racism, in that they love white skin because they think tan skin is associated with the poor, stupid, and violent. Some Thais idolize the Chinese, the Koreans, and the Japanese to the point that Thai women would stay under an umbrella at the beach at all times and swim with their fucking clothes on. I been in Bangkok a few times, and I went to a drug store for some painkillers. Everywhere in the store, they had these isles upon fucking isles of this skin whitening shit. A couple of times I've been stopped by these Thai women who immediately start quizzing me on 'How do you have such beautiful skin?' or 'What products do you use?' Every time it happens, I tell them to fuck off. Then I come back here to Roanapur, which has more of the Vietnamese then the Thais, and all of the Vietnamese look at this Thai obsession with skin color as completely fucking retarded. I think it's fucking stupid as well, but hey, that's Thailand's issue, not mine." Revy licks her dried lips and stares out of her window, noticing a stone statue of a Buddhist monk in front of an entrance to a small park. "Benny mentioned that statue…getting close," Revy mumbles under her breath.

"Alright, I see Crazy Adeyemi's place…wait he moved? What the fuck?" Revy swears as she spots an outdoor auto garage with a giant statue on the roof. The statue is dressed as a Nigerian king, with a beaded veil over its head and a large, quilted robe on its body. The statue holds the wooden staff of a large, metal flag that says 'Eshu's House of Wrenches and Other Shiny Metal Things.' She drives onto the premises of the auto garage and exits the Town Car, with Rock following suit. Suddenly, an African man in blue overalls, with a tag on the overalls that says 'Ollie', runs toward Revy and Rock, holding a wrench in his right hand. The African man appears to be somewhat tall, at least six feet, clean shaven, and with very short hair. On the man's head is a cap that says 'Crazy Adeyemi'. The man approaches and says in a thick Central African accent "Welcome, welcome! Dis is Eshu's wrench of houses and metal things dat shine! I am Ollie Adeyemi, how may I help?"

Revy and Rock exchange confused glances, and then Revy replies "Look…(to which Adeyemi starts looking around the place, thinking that Revy gave him an order)…what are you doing?" Adeyemi continues to look around at absolutely nothing, saying "You said look…I look!" Revy raises her eyebrow and says "It's a figure of fucking speech, alright? Anyway, we've been referred here by our friend Benny. You know, Benny Rubin?" Adeyemi's face lights up as he exclaims "Oh yes, Benny man! He's a good man, good friend. Did you know dat one time, Benny man came here for help cause he got a hula dancer figure glued to his ass? Said he woke up in friend's house with it and told me not to tell anyone!"

"Benny did fucking what? Never mind that, I don't give a shit what Benny does. I need the windows of my car replaced, like fucking now!" Revy replies, partially annoyed and partially disturbed. Adeyemi walks past Revy and Rock, surveying the car. He runs his hands on the impact sites of the window. "Just in case you are wondering how they got like that, the windows are bulletproof," Rock blurts out, scratching the back of his neck. "Windows aren't stupid-proof, oh no-no-no!" Adeyemi speaks out as he examines the rear windows. "Sadly, we have been dealing with our share of fucking idiots," Revy speaks back, leaning on the hood of the Town Car. "So Adeyemi, how long and how much?" Revy further inquires.

"I need a ruler to measure windows and I don't know how much damage dey took," Adeyemi replies. "No, Adeyemi! I am talking about how long it will take to fix our car and how much it will cost us…FINANCIALLY…to have the windows replaced," Revy explains herself, getting mildly frustrated. "Oh, I don't do bulletproof, but regular windows dey would take a day or two to install. As for price, I say $250 for each side window, for $1,000 total, plus $300 for front and back each. $1,600 total-total," Adeyemi answers. "Fuck, we don't have the money now. We're going to get paid later today. Can you keep the car here for a day? Trust us, we are good for the money," Revy comments, her left shoulder resting on the hood. She tosses the keys to the Town Car at Adeyemi, who catches them.

"Sure, no problem! I can fix dey car up very good. Improve it too, if you want. You want to make it swim? Done! Make it fly? Done! I'll turn it into a mobile love machine so that it will seduce everytin in sight! The ladyboys wouldn't resist! I, Crazy Adeyemi, will turn dey bad problems into better solutions!" Adeyemi rambles, talking with his hands as he goes along. Rock simply stares at him and says "…What?" as Revy starts slowly chuckling. After a few seconds of chuckling, Revy asks "Been putting all of Chang's heroin up your arm, eh?" Adeyemi calmly walks toward a toolbox and says "Nope," not realizing that it was a rhetorical question. Revy heaves a sigh of bemused exasperation and turns toward Rock, shrugging her shoulders.

Another mechanic, also appearing to be from Nigeria, approaches Revy and Rock. "Sorry about Adeyemi, he's my partner but he is a bit of a freak," the man says in a thick Nigerian accent. The man appears to be slightly taller than Adeyemi, clean shaven and bald. He is dressed just like Adeyemi, except his name tag says 'Samuel'. "As long as he gets the windows fixed, I don't care if he fucks his car's exhaust pipe on his spare time," Revy replies, getting off the hood of her car. The Nigerian man smiles and says "Name's Samuel. I overheard you name drop Mr. Chang. You with dem Triads?" Revy shakes her head and says "Nah, we are Black Lagoon Company, that courier group that does odd jobs every now and then. I know Adeyemi is with the Nigerian mafia. You too?" A stern look takes over Samuel's face as he answers "That's not something most people would normally ask of strangers, but yes, I am. Chang and his boys having been keeping us in money. Have been since Adeyemi and I opened business here. 'The Lagos Auto Company' we called it, back then."

Revy raises her eyebrow and says "Back when Benny would talk about this place, it was called 'Crazy Adeyemi's'. Now it's called 'Esh-something house of whatever'. What happened, you changed the names?" Samuel heaves a sigh and says "We changed the name a month ago, or well, Adeyemi forced me to. After a day of parting, during which he shot ketamine into his veins, knowing Adeyemi - that was a scary moment, Adeyemi claimed dey he had a vision that Jesus Christ and the Yoruba deity Eshu told him to alter our business into the image of Eshu himself. I obviously told Adeyemi that he was bat-shit crazy, but I caved in. In all honesty, this was 16th time we changed dem name of the business, after five years in business. Still, he's been a good business partner, so I tolerate his craziness."

The three grow silent, until Rock asks Revy "So, are we going to finish the job Takahashi gave us?" Revy places the palm of her right hand on her forehead and says "Shit, forgot about it." Suddenly, Adeyemi yells across the outdoor garage, from behind the Town Car "Eyyy! Was dis tin here?" Rock, Revy, and Samuel walk to the back of the trunk, only to find Adeyemi holding a package of crystal meth in his hands. "Dis tin," Adeyemi repeats, pointing at the package with his lips. "What? Are you trying to kiss the meth?"! Revy yells, confused by what Adeyemi is doing. "Nah, nah. Nigerians point with dem lips, dis normal. Though, wouldn't mind a little taste, now," Adeyemi answers.

"Oh fuck no! Adeyemi, I appreciate the shit you are doing, but if you so much as snort a single shard of the stuff, I will reach down your throat, tear your stomach and esophagus out, and find someone to put the shabu back together!" Revy yells, meaning what she says. Adeyemi gives Revy a humbled glare, nods and frowns, and hands the package to Revy. "Thanks," Revy says, handing the package in her hand to Rock and grabbing the other two for herself.

"I'll leave the car with you. Will be back later today, hopefully before it gets dark," Revy concludes as Rock and herself exit the premises of Adeyemi's auto garage. Suddenly, they hear the sound of honking and look to the road. A dark red Volvo 240 DL sedan stands parked on the curve, the windows rolled down. Inside the driver seat, Laurent Reynolds yells out "Hey, ça va (how's it going)? Takahashi told me to keep an eye on you two. I see you two need some transport. Très bien (very well), get in."

Rock and Revy stare at each other, nod simultaneously, and head toward the back seat, with Rock sitting behind Reynolds and Revy sitting behind the empty front-side passenger seat. Both have their respective drug packages on their laps. "Where to first?" Reynolds asks, turning his head around to face Rock and Revy. Without consulting the piece of paper that Takahashi gave her, Revy immediately says "We are going to Kaeo Tangwongsan's place first. Out of the three, she's the only one I have kept in some contact with. Her place is on…" Reynolds waves his right hand in the air and says "No need. I know the place." Reynolds sets his Volvo into drive, checks his left mirror for any oncoming cars, and drives forward, moving closer to the road's divide.

"You know Kaeo? What's she like? Any tips for negotiating?" Rock interrogates Revy. Revy stretches her neck and replies "You already saw her before, you just didn't know who she was. Remember that place near the fishing wharfs? The one with the indoor street fighting?" Rock suddenly recalls from his memory "That fight club that you dragged me to see? The one where that drunken Canadian guy broke a beer bottle over my head when he tried to take a swing at one of the fighters?" Revy sighs and says "Look, it was better than what you were doing, watching one of those shitty soccer games. And besides, I gave that Canuck prick a broken nose and your stitches healed eventually. And don't forget the 200 bucks that I won by betting on the bald, Thai guy."

Rock gives Revy an annoyed stare and says "Revy, if there was a day that I wanted to see two meatheads hitting each other with plywood, that wasn't the day." Revy laughs mildly and says "C'mon Rock, soccer is a pussy's sport." Suddenly, Reynolds yells out "Hey, hey, hey, madam! Soccer requires much more strength, endurance, and finesse then two men hitting each other with clubs. As a major Zinadine Zidane fan, I find that a bit insulting." Rock lightly chuckles and says "Funny, Zidane was in the game that I missed. The 1996 Intercontinental Cup, Juventus and River Plate." Reynolds shakes his head, smirking, and says "Merde (shit)! I remember that game! That's just fucked. I'm a fan of Juventus so I'm a bit biased, but that is harsh. You owe him, Revy." Revy replies by flipping Reynolds the bird as Rock continues on "The funny part was that the game was in Tokyo, but had I still lived in Japan, I probably wouldn't have been able to see it since it was on a work day."

"Can we get back to business, or are you two going to keep jerking off to some mental image of Diego Maradona?" Revy sardonically asks. Reynolds darts a bemused stare at Revy as Rock turns his head and asks "Oh yea, Kaeo. This 'Kaeo' owns the fight club?" Revy pulls out a pack of Natural Spirit and fishes out a cigarette. "Yeah, it's her piece of the action. I mentioned last time we were there on how I sparred a few fights for money, right? I noticed some of the payouts her club received from bad bets. Trust me, she's making a fucking killing with that prizefighting racket."

As Revy places the cigarette in the right corner of her mouth and pulls out a lighter, Reynolds hears the sound of a fire being struck and blurts out "Keep the ash out of the car, hold the cigarette out of the window." Revy mutters "Fine," and obliges, letting her right hand hover out of the Volvo. Rock fishes out his pack of cigarettes and says "So, what can you tell me about Kaeo? Personality? Traits? What makes her tick?" Rock places his cigarette on right corner of his mouth and retrieves his lighter. Reynolds spots this in his rear mirror and says "Same goes for you, Rock."

As Rock lights his cigarette, Revy answers Rock's question "I wasn't exactly poker buddies with Kaeo so I can't tell you everything, but from what little I got, she's subtle and always hiding behind some snake-like smile. Like she can look very kind and shit at first, but pay attention to her eyes, and you realize that she got that crocodile smile, just waiting to bite your fucking head off. Also, while she is a business-lady at heart and always looking to make money, she loves gambling. Like gambling to her looks like the only thing that gets her off. She would place bets on fucking anything. Street fights, Olympic medals, seagulls shitting on peoples' cars, fucking anything."

"Interesting, that could be very useful to know," Rock mutters, taking a drag of his cigarette. Revy takes a drag of her cigarette as well, knocking ash onto the asphalt. The two continue to smoke their cigarettes when Reynolds decides to turn the radio on, which is set to the same French rap station that the Town Car was on earlier. The radio plays a French rap song "Qu'est ce qui fait marcher les sages (What makes the wise guys walk)" by Les Sages Poètes de la Rue.

"Not this French shit again…" Revy mutters under her breath.

"Here's the place. I'll be here, probably. If I am not in the car, I'll be in the grocery next door," Reynolds comments, parking behind a white Ford Mercury Grand Marquis. To the right of the Volvo is a two floor building with a faded sign that says in Thai 'Ngein Cĥāng Kārnả k̄hêā (Silver Elephant Imports).' To the left of Silver Elephant Imports is a Chinese grocery with a purple sign that says using white lettering 'Tianjin Bread and Dairy.' Between the two stores is a tight alleyway that could fit a group of people but not a car.

Placing one of the drug packages under the empty seat, Revy grabs the package on her lap and says "Hide your shit under the seat in front. Don't think Reynolds here would like having some fiend smash his windows." "Yeah, please," Reynolds comments, his eyes on the grocery. Rock hides his drug package under the seat in front and exits the car, as Revy follows suit. She takes the lead as Rock follows, walking into the alleyway between the two stores. They suddenly hear muffled music in the alleyway, the music growing louder as they approach a metal door that seems to go to the basement of the 'Silver Elephant'.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

A slot in the metal door slides open, like a speakeasy door from the Prohibition Era. In the slot, Rock and Revy could see the eyes and tanned skin of a Thai man with black, faded eyebrows. "What you want?" the Thai man says, as Revy and Rock hear the sound of a gun's barrel being slid back. "We're here to see fucking Kaeo, alright? She knows me, I fought a few matches here," Revy replies in an annoyed tone. The Thai man stares cautiously at Revy through the slot, asking "Who are you?" Revy rolls her eyes and angrily says "It's fucking Revy! Fuck, did Kaeo hire you this week?"

Revy could hear the man chat with someone else in muffled English. After a few exchanges behind the door, the door swings open and the Thai man, with black, combed hair and a thin goatee, dressed in a white, sleeveless shirt and denim jeans, and sporting a tattoo of an elephant on his right shoulder, mockingly bows before Revy, his Beretta 21A Bobcat hanging in his right hand. Revy shakes her head in annoyance as Rock follows her into a small, dimly lit hallway. On the left behind an opened doorway, Revy and Rock could see a staircase going up and down. On the right, a metal door stands shut with a 'Do Not Enter' sign taped to it. Resting on the wall, a Vietnamese looking man with long black hair flowing to his shoulders, wearing a brown and yellow pinstripe dress shirt with the collar exposing his chest, a set of denim jeans, a gold chain around his neck, and thin framed eyeglasses, raises his left hand and slightly waves it. "Revy…" the Vietnamese man mutters. "Thinh…take it easy," Revy replies, as Thinh nods in response.

"C'mon, I remember the way," Revy says to Rock, walking through the opened doorway into the staircase. "Yeah, I remember. Upstairs is just storage and other shit, downstairs is the action," Revy mutters, walking down the stairs, meth package under her right arm, music becoming louder and more distinguishable as Thai heavy metal. Walking down the flight of stairs, Revy and Rock approach a door guarded by a bald, clean-shaven, Vietnamese looking man with a Bengali tiger patterned tattoos on both of his arms, wearing a black T-shirt that has the Harley Davidson logo on it, brown cargo shorts, and white tennis shoes. "Revy…chào em (hello). It's been a while. Here for the fights?" the Vietnamese man inquires. "Here for Kaeo. Business proposition. You know where she is, Quan?" Revy inquires, pressing the drug package to her ribs.

Quan stares at the meth package in Revy's grasp and replies "She's at her usual spot…that package…cái quái gì vậy? (What the hell is that?)" As Quan points at the bag of meth, Revy realizes what Quan is asking and says "Italian ices. Strawberry flavor. Want a taste?" Quan gives Revy a concerned glare, opens the door behind him, and says "You know the rules. They haven't changed. Have fun."

As Revy and Rock step into the fight club, they soak themselves into the dim, flickering lights, staring at the massive crowd of people forming a circle around a brightly lit center. "Why doesn't Kaeo set up a cage or a barrier between the fight and crowd?" Rock asks, bumping into a white tourist that says "Excuse y'all" in a southern American accent. "That's the trademark here. 'Interactive experience' Kaeo would call it. Though it got about as interactive as it could for a few assholes that grabbed my ass during a few fights. I wonder if any of those cocksuckers are still walking with that limp," Revy comments, standing on her toes in order to see the fight in the middle. "Nope, don't recognize any of the pit fighters. C'mon follow me to the stairs," Revy adds, motioning to a spiral staircase that extends toward a small mezzanine. The sound of Thai heavy metal continues to thunder through the seedy-looking fight club, playing "Nang Meow" by Stone Fire Metal.

The music blasts through the club as the crowd cheers and boos to the fight going on. As they approach the stairs, a young Asian woman, with black hair tied into a pony tail, holding up from her waist an opened briefcase full of assorted cigarette packs, approaches them and says "Buh̄rī̀ (Cigarettes)! T̄hūk (cheap), 50 baht or $1.60 each…ah Revy! You back," the woman says, mixing Thai and English. Revy nods her head at the woman in acknowledgement, saying "Yea, business not entertainment. this time." Rock stares at the Thai woman and says "You Kaeo? We're here on behalf of Raymond Takahashi."

The young woman calmly smiles and shakes her head. Suddenly, an elderly Thai-looking woman slowly limps down the stairs to the mezzanine. "She's my granddaughter, but it's nice to see that some still think I am young hehe," the elderly lady says. She looks like the young woman with the cigarettes after being aged fifty years, with her hair gone gray and slowly falling apart and her entire body covered in wrinkles. "Ey Kaeo, it's been a while," Revy greets, adjusting the package of meth in her arms. "It has. And you young man, I think I saw you with Revy that one time. And you mention a Raymond Takahashi? The Japanese man that is selling bread?" Kaeo calmly inquires, smiling. Rock studies Kaeo's expression, subtly taking a step back as he notices the crocodile smile that Revy mentioned earlier.

"Er…yes, that same man. We are representing him here. Nice business you are running here, much different than the ringed fights I could watch back in Japan," Rock engages Kaeo in small talk, trying to swim his way into the heart of the negotiation. "I'm an old lady, youngster. My time on this planet is running short, so you could skip with the faked pleasantries. What you have for me?" Kaeo replies, her demeanor suddenly turning serious.

"Shabu, Kaeo. High quality ice, glass grade," Revy says, handing the package of meth to Kaeo. Kaeo struggles to hold the package up, setting it on the staircase. "Takahashi selling shabu…interesting. And so he wants me to use my employees as drug dealers? They have their hands tied up with collecting gambling debt every day," Kaeo replies, staring at the meth. "Hire more people. Thailand is in a huge depression. Shouldn't be hard to find a few laid off workers desperate for cash," Rock retorts, placing his hands behind his back. "True…true," Kaeo comments, slowly nodding. Suddenly, she jerks her head up and says "The Red Wa are Thailand's primary producer of shabu. They wouldn't take kindly to someone undercutting their profits." Revy smirks and says "The Red Wa and Chang have an agreement. They don't fuck with Roanapur. Plus, Takahashi sells to Roanapur and Mexico, not to Bangkok." Kaeo shakes her head and says "The United Wa State Army are a 20,000 person strong military force that sells crystal meth and heroin to Southeast Asia. They are capable of taking on the official army of Thailand and holding their own pretty well. If someone is threatening their profits, they wouldn't care about some truce. I need better assurances then that."

Rock blurts out "Chang and Takahashi are friends. That means that Takahashi's distributors will become Chang's friends. And Chang is king here, you know that." Kaeo solemnly grins and says "I have remained neutral to Roanapur politics for a long while. If I take your shabu, targets will appear all over my body. The Red Wa, the 14K, maybe Hotel Moscow if Balalaika and Chang go to blows…" Revy interrupts "And you get protection from the Sun Yee On, the Nigerian Mafia, the Takahashi Syndicate. Plus the Red Wa don't want war for the same reason that Chang and Balalaika don't want war. Blood is bad for business. And plus, you are distributing in Roanapur, not Bangkok."

Kaeo grows quiet for a minute, entering a state of deep thought. Scratching her chin with her bony fingers, she looks up toward the mezzanine and says "Soulivong! Get over here!" Suddenly, a skinny, tanned skin Laotian man with wavy, ruffled black hair, a large, wide nose, and a long neck, wearing a plaid red and grey buttoned t-shirt, black cargo shorts, and brown, webbed sandals, walks down the stairs toward Kaeo. As he walks down the stairs, Kaeo turns to Revy and says "How much?"

"120,000 in American," Revy replies, having some trouble getting the words out. Kaeo starts chuckling and says "You started working comedy clubs on the side?" Rock jumps in and says "Kaeo, I assure you that you would not be undercutting the Red Wa on price because the product we have here is purer then anything the Red Wa could produce. That is glass grade shabu, at least 94% according to Takahashi. You will be competing based on quality, not price, and so $120,000 does make sense. It's 3 pounds, so it will be $40,000 each." Kaeo smiles at Rock with a serpentine glare and says "I think you are full of shit, but we'll find out soon. Soulivong, have a taste." She stares toward Soulivong and motions at the bag of meth. Soulivong walks down a few steps, kneels across from Kaeo on the stairs, and retrieves a switchblade from his pocket. He unsheathes the blade and makes a slight cut on the bag, and then pulls a small shard of crystal out. Putting the switchblade on the stairs, he looks toward Kaeo's granddaughter and says "Can you get me a clean ashtray? Thank you."

Revy and Rock both grow increasingly tense and nervous as Kaeo's granddaughter returns with a black ashtray from an empty table. Soulivong takes the ashtray from the Thai woman's hand and drops the shard into the ashtray. He sets the ashtray on the stairs and grabs his switchblade, aiming the handle of the blade at the shard of meth. Three strikes and the meth has been reduced into smaller fragments. Soulivong cleans the residual fragments off of his switchblade and pinches the fragments with his right fingers. He transfers the fragments onto the opened palm of his left hand and brings his hand to his nose. Soulivong snorts the meth twice, pauses, and then a third time for the remaining fragments on his hand. He wipes his nose, pinches his nostrils, and arcs his head back, letting the dust seep into his bloodstream. A few deep breaths by Soulivong and he starts slowly nodding in approval, his mouth opened as he starts exhaling. "It's good…very good. Better than what I tried from the Red Wa, easily," Soulivong says as he starts smiling in euphoria. "It's strong…I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep tonight…wow!" Soulivong exclaims as he proceeds to finish off the meth in the ashtray with a wide grin on his face.

Kaeo turns toward Rock and Revy, saying "Soulivong gave his stamp of approval. Looks like you aren't full of shit after all." Revy stares at Kaeo, pauses for a second, and then says "So…$120,000 it is." Kaeo starts chuckling and says "The price is still completely insane. I need to turn a profit, a good one, if I am going to enter the drug trade. The risks are too great for me and my organization to scrape up pennies in profit. $72,000 for the package. That is my bid."

As Rock, Revy, and Kaeo prepare to haggle on the price, a familiar voice rings through Rock's and Revy's ears. "WHAT FUCK IS THIS?" Songxie Tong yells out, an incredulous look on his face. Revy swells with anger before she even looks at Songxie's face, turning around and yelling "You cock-gobbling motherfucker! You owe me $4,000 you piece of Chinglish shit! $1,600 for my car's windows and the rest for pissing me off!" Songxie gets into Revy's face and says "I OWE WHAT, JOHK-SING? YOU OWE ME $3,000, BITCH!" "ALL THE FUCK I OWE YOU IS A STERILIZING SHOT TO THE BALLS AND A COPY OF HOOKED ON PHONICS! AND WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Revy yells back, sweating.

"I do mine job, make deals! You two go home, fuck off, you two johk-sings!" Songxie yells back, at a slightly lower tone as he clears his dried throat. Revy, still having the energy to scream at the top of her lungs, retorts "WEDGE THE COCK OUT OF YOUR ASS, THEN TELL ME TO FUCK OFF!" Rock interjects, saying "Takahashi hired us to establish deals with potential distributors. What are you here for?" Songxie glares at Rock and says "I here to do that. Just did for Mongkut Kukrit! Now fuck off, American Born Chinese!" Rock stares at Songxie and says "I'm Japanese, born and raised." Songxie stares at Rock with a bemused and surprised look on his face, saying "OHHHHHHHHHH, YOU JAPANESE! YES? POK KAI (drop dead), YOU STUPID GA JAI (Jap)!"

Kaeo suddenly interjects "You met with Mongkut? How did it go?" Songxie stares at Kaeo and says "$90,000 for 3 pounds. Mongkut know me, gave money first. I go back to Takahashi after done and get him shabu." Kaeo starts chuckling and says "Well, there we have it. $90,000 for 3 pounds, not a cent higher." Songxie stares at Kaeo and asks "You Kaeo? Name's Songxie Tong. Takahashi's business partner." Kaeo and Songxie shake hands as Revy boils in anger. Suddenly, her face lights up as an idea crosses her head. "Ey, Kaeo! Feeling lucky? How about we wager on Chinglish here winning a fight? He loses, you get another 3 pounds of meth for free. He wins, you have to take another 3 pounds at $90,000," Revy gambles as Rock and Songxie stare in disbelief. "You crazy, ABC! I no gamble 3 pounds in fight, no!" Songxie responds to Revy's gamble with a shocked look on his face. Revy smirks and looks toward Songxie, saying "What's the matter? Take some of your shabu. It might cure your pussyitis!" Songxie glares angrily at Revy, grinding his teeth. After looking at Kaeo and Rock, Songxie yells out "Okay johk-sing, I fight!"

Songxie removes his flak jacket and drops it on the ground, right next to Kaeo. He steps toward the crowd of people that formed a ring, who are watching a bald, shirtless, Thai looking man on top of another Thai looking man, whose face is on the ground, bashing the back of the man's head with his right elbow. Suddenly, a pair of Kaeo's employees, both appearing to be Thai men dressed in black t-shirts and jeans, jump into the circle and pry the bald man off of his opponent. The bald man roars to the crowd, his arms raised, as the two Thai gangsters escort him away. A third Thai gangster jumps into the circle and scoops the defeated fighter off the ground. Picking him up by his right shoulder, the Thai gangster pulls the defeated fighter toward a side door. The defeated fighter slips in and out of consciousness, spitting out blood as he approaches the side door. Suddenly, Songxie jumps into the circle and approaches a Thai gangster that just returned from escorting the previous winner. Songxie hands the Thai gangster his Glock pistol, who conceals the pistol under his shirt.

Revy and Rock push toward the front of the circle, standing next to what sounds and looks like a white, female, American tourist on the left and a male, Indian, local resident on the right. Songxie tears his v-neck undershirt off and swings it in the air, exposing his skinny but defined chest. His chest sports an intricate pattern of a snake, the body of the snake coiled on his abdomen. On his right and left arms, he sports almost identical tattoos to Revy. Rock notices this and exclaims "He's got the same tattoos that you have, on his arms. What does that mean?" Rock asks, curious. Revy scratches the back of her head and says "It means that he is a snakehead. It means that he helped smuggle people, for Chang I'm guessing. That's how I got mine." Rock stares at Revy, startled. He asks "You helped smuggle people?" Revy smirks and says "Yeah, Chang wanted more manpower for a shipment to Melbourne, Australia, so he commissioned Black Lagoon for extra eyes and hands. A bunch of sex slaves on a small tanker ship, mostly women, a few men…Thais, Malays, Cambodians, Indonesians. Fought off some Indonesian pirates on the way, me and Dutch. Benny wasn't around just yet, and Barajas already sunk to the bottom of ocean. Well the job was successful and Chang decided to get a little unorthodox with the rewards and, seeing that I'm Chinese, he offered to let me get a snakehead tattoo. I said 'fuck it, might as well' and that's where my tat came from."

Rock stares incredulously at Revy, saying "That's not exactly an ethical thing to do." Revy starts laughing and says "We are not exactly a pair of ethical motherfuckers, ey Rocky boy?" Rock grimaces and says "I suppose not. Were there kids smuggled too?" Revy pauses for a few seconds and says "I…doubt it. When kids are involved, usually it's in places with really shit police. Like Roanapur and Bangkok. Hey, if you're missing those Romani psycho twins, I could set you up with a preteen Filipino boy, heh heh." Rock violently shakes his head, saying "Oh fuck you, Revy. That's just sick!" Revy bursts into chuckling as Rock shakes his head in disgust. "Oh trust me Rock, we have yet to get some of the contracts that Dutch, Barajas, and I used to get back in the day. Now those were some fucking depraved times. But stick around, Rocky boy. Being it's a depression and all, you'll see," Revy replies, reminiscing about past jobs.

A white Australian man in an AC/DC t-shirt and black shorts, sporting a black and gold bandana on his head, steps into the ring with a microphone. The man, red haired with faint stubble, raises the microphone up and says "Alrighty, blokes and blokettes. We got us a newcomer waiting for a challenge. Aye bloke, your name?" The Australian extends the microphone at Songxie, who replies with "Fuck You." The Australian man gives an annoyed smirk at Songxie and says to the mic "Say hello to Fuck You, hailing from some whatever fuck woop woop (middle of nowhere) in some whatever fuck country. Load up on the amber fluid everyone, we got ace beer on tap, as we wait for a contestant for 'Fuck You'." The crowd, a mix of North American, Australian, and European tourists along with local residents and visitors from neighboring nations, laughs in response as Songxie loosens up with arm stretches.

Rock leans toward Revy and says "I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to the idea of human smuggling." Revy stares at Rock and replies "You're just like me. You're a pirate. That's your words, not mine." Rock painfully smiles and says "Yeah, those are my words. Just chalk up what I said just now as a bit of shock, that's all." Revy smiles and says "Rock, you've only been in Roanapur for a couple of years. The people we been up against have almost all been scumbags and psychos, but we don't get the luxury of choosing. And the most 'honest' person you brought yourself to shoot was a hobo that was committing armed robbery. Once, I shot a pregnant woman in the head, in Juarez, because the stupid bitch wouldn't give me her car and the Juarez police department was closing in. I didn't want to do it. I didn't feel strong from doing it, but I shot her. She was grabbing onto the barrel of my gun and it went off. Had there been another way, maybe, but I don't give a shit, because she doesn't count in my life. And if the Juarez police took me in, I'd be wasting away in a Mexican prison so fucked that you could only imagine it in your nightmares. Would you want that to happen to you or me? Sometimes you do sick things for money, for freedom, for all sorts of shit, cause you're desperate. This side of the world is a fucked up place, and we are fucked up people. You know that."

Rock heaves a sigh and says "Yeah, it seems like something that takes time to adjust to. I've seen people die and all but I'm still new at killing for the sake of self-preservation in our line of work. And I haven't actually seen much…besides those Romani twins, Japan, and our occasional piracy…and…and…forget what I said about human smuggling. Still have some of the old thinking in my head. Sorry if I'm sounding like a fucking hypocrite right now." Revy motions Rock off and says "It's alright. A year or so and you'll get desensitized like me. I've seen it happen before. Those that can't stomach it would disappear, get clipped for opening their mouth, or get jailed and sent away for a long time, or all three of the above. You're different. You're like me, a survivor. That's just what we do…we survive."

Rock smiles and says "Yeah…I don't want either of us to rot in jail either way. I'm still adjusting, but you're right, I guess. By the way, how much did Chang pay for the human smuggling job?" "90 grand, split equally between Dutch and I," Revy quickly answers. "$45,000? Converted from the yen, that's almost as much as I made in a year back in Japan." Revy replies "Yeah, as you have noticed over the years, big paydays from people that aren't trying to stab us in the back are pretty rare. That money set us up nicely for a while, which is convenient, as hijacking ships for spare cash is hard with only 2 people on hand." Rock smiles and says "Money can make people do strange things." Revy smirks and says "Yeah, tell me about it."

Songxie shuffles his feet as he runs in circles, pumping himself up and making himself look like an idiot. "You sure about this, Revy? Gambling 3 pounds like this? If we lose, that's $90,000 that we owe Takahashi," Rock inquires, his eyes glued to Songxie. Revy pauses for a few seconds, and then replies "What was it that you said? Predict the actions, reduce the variables, and tighten the range of results, and it all just becomes gambling? Don't think that you are the only that can do that. Now Songxie here is angry, pissed off, I mean really pissed off. Which is good. Being pissed off works wonders in fights. As someone with an 11-6 record here, I speak from experience." Rock blinks and asks "And if Songxie's anger isn't enough for him to defeat his opponent?" Revy smirks and replies "Then Songxie would be knocked unconscious, which for me is worth $90,000 to see his Chinglish ass broken, and we could negotiate with Tinsulaananda without Songxie fucking it up for us. Trust me, Tinsul is a real piece of work and any distractions would make a negotiation with him go downhill fast. Ideally though, I want Songxie to win and get the shit beaten out of him so well that he can't bother us with Tinsul. I'm risking $90,000, I know, but Takahashi said that all 9 pounds have to be sold, and I don't want that scumbag looking for a loophole out of this."

Rock shakes his head and says "Takahashi said that we'd get $2,000 for each successful negotiation. Risking $90,000 for $2,000 is not good gambling." Revy smirks and says "It is when the odds are well in your favor. I got a gut feeling about Songxie. He's a dick but he looks like he could hold his own well. And plus, here we can claim that we negotiated with Kaeo, since I made the bet and goaded Songxie into a fight. Which means that we'll get paid, since this gamble was my idea, not Songxie's. Otherwise, we won't get paid and Songxie fucks things up with us and Tinsul, meaning we don't make a dime today. And I'm not letting this particular cunt get away with that." Revy lets out a laugh and continues "I started doing what you do…look for possible win-win situations and reduce the variables. Looks like we're rubbing off on each other." Rock lets out a laugh and says "Looks like it."

Suddenly, a slightly hulking figure emerges from the crowd. Songxie and the Australian stare as the figure steps into the circle. The figure, shirtless, wearing black sandals, cargo shorts in military fatigue colors, and medical tape on his forearms, stands in the circle, cracking his knuckles. He has black, wavy hair, extending to a mullet, thick eyebrows, high cheek bones, and a pointed chin. The man's muscles are huge as his veins bulge on his arms and chest. The man, who has Asian features and a light complexion, stares at Songxie and bellows in Japanese "Omae wa mo…shinderu (You are already dead)."

Rock and a few other members of the audience burst out into hysterical laughter as the remaining audience stares in confusion as to what is so funny. "Err, Rock…is there something that I missed?" Revy asks, confused as Songxie starts cracking up at the sight of the steroid junkie. "Long story short, that guy, Japanese or otherwise, looks and talks like this comic book character back in Japan. He was this overly macho cross between Bruce Lee and Sylvester Stallone, in a story where he would walk around a post-apocalyptic world and cause other steroid junkies to have their heads explode using his fingers. Good call on Songxie, because his competitor looks like an idiot," Rock answers, still laughing. Revy rolls her eyes and says "You Japanese people are weird," to which Rock smiles, shakes his head, and waves Revy off.

A Thai gangster whispers into the Australian man's ear. The Australian man then angles the mic and says "3 to 1 odds, favoring 'Asian Schwarzenegger'! 3 to 1 odds! Fight between 'Fuck You' and 'Asian Schwarzenegger' beginning in 3 minutes! Place your bets, everyone!" Revy nudges Rock and says "How much cash you got on you? I'm thinking about putting some actual cash down on Songxie." Rock raises his hands in protest and says "If anything, we should be putting money down on Kenshiro here, so that if Songxie does lose, we don't owe as much money to Takahashi." Revy glares at Rock and says "At 3 to 1 odds favoring the meathead? What's $20 going to do if Songxie does lose? C'mon Rocky baby, for a while, you've been having other people stick their neck out for you. Stick your neck out yourself once in a while, especially since you seemingly want to take a more 'active' role here." Rock smirks at Revy, then grimaces, and then reaches into a back pocket, fishing out a $50 bill. "I'll match your fifty," Revy says, grabbing Rock's $50 bill. She muscles her way to a betting kiosk by a wall and slams a pair of $50 bills on the counter, yelling "$100 on 'Fuck You'."

As Revy returns to Rock's side, Songxie and the steroid junkie prepare to fight. The Australian MC gives the signal and the two men size each other up. The steroid junkie calmly closes in on Songxie as Songxie strafes left and right, waiting for a response from the meathead. The meathead lunges his right arm, coiled as a fist, at Songxie. Songxie grabs the man's wrist with his left hand and drives his right foot into the man's crotch, stunning him. Songxie follows by hammering his right fist into the man's throat, sending the meathead to the ground. As Songxie prepares to again drive his fist into the meathead's throat, the meathead kicks Songxie away at the ribs and rolls away. Getting up, the steroid junkie gasps for air as Songxie returns to his original strafing position.

"C'mon Songxie! Go for the eyes, not the balls! Bigger target!" Revy yells as a few members of the audience laugh. Songxie gives a quick glance at Revy, which gives the steroid fiend enough time to swing his right arm at Songxie's head. Songxie instinctively keeps his chin down, letting his forehead absorb the blow. Songxie staggers a step as the 'roid animal nurses his bruised fist. "Go for the fucking neck!" a white woman yells out in a Philadelphia accent. The meathead lunges at Songxie with both hands, grappling him. He moves his arms from Songxie's shoulders to his neck, throttling Songxie. Picking him up, the meathead flips Songxie over his shoulders and drives him back first into the hard ground. As the meathead kneels before Songxie to finish him off, Songxie replies with a kick to the steroid junkie's head. Songxie grimaces in pain, nursing his back with his right hand, as the meathead charges at Songxie. Songxie spots this and ducks under a charging knee strike. Facing the meathead's back, Songxie drives his right elbow into the man's right kidney, causing the meathead to yell in pain. Songxie then struggles to wrap his right arm around the man's neck with the intent to choke him, securing the hold. The steroid fiend quickly responds with a few sharp elbow strikes to Songxie's abdomen.

"Songxie has the same strategy that I used. Go for the weak spots, take the air out, and hit them the right way, end the fight as soon as possible," Revy comments as the two fighters brawl. "Isn't that obvious in every fight?" Rock asks, as Songxie takes a shot in the nose. "You got to know how to find the right spots. Those 6 losses I had? 3 were by the same guy. This Indonesian ex-pirate named Hadi, he knew some basic silat techniques. Said he learned them from the village he was raised in. After the 3rd fight, where he nearly choked me to death, I approached him and asked for him to show some moves. He laughed and said that the moves aren't important in a fight, just the weak spots on the body. He basically taught me some anatomy, like showing how if you would hit the spot between your pectorals and your abdomen, you could take the wind out of someone and even cause their heart to spasm. You don't even need to be that strong, since those spots are weak spots. I want to show you that some time, along with some Israeli moves that I picked up. Lifesavers, those techniques," Revy replies.

Rock watches the fight and says "If Songxie is going for the weak spots, then why is this fight taking so long?" Revy laughs and says "Because 'roid rage here pumped up on so much shit that the extra mass cushions the hits and his balls are too small to hit, haha."

Songxie ducks under a haymaker and rabbit punches the meathead. He then locks his arms around the man's neck and tightens his grip. The hulking man slowly falls to his knees, twitching at five second intervals, before finally losing consciousness. Songxie rolls onto his back, panting heavily, as several members of the crowd disperse to collect their gambling winnings. "Fuck yeah! Hey Songxie, pay up the 4 gees that you owe me and I might just hate you less!" Revy yells out, pumping her fists in excitement. Kaeo creeps up behind Rock and Revy, saying "Considering how physical the fight was, and that I don't think that you associate with steroid junkies, I will say that the fight was legitimate. A deal is a deal, so I await the other 3 pounds of meth that you owe me. I will have someone send the money to Takahashi later, you have my word." Revy turns to Rock and says "You get Kaeo the shit from the car. I'm going to collect our winnings."

Stepping toward Reynolds' car, flanked by Thinh and Quan on each side, Rock knocks on the car's front-right window. Reynolds rolls down the windows and says "Salut (hey)", his glance jumping from Rock to Thinh, to Quan, and back to Rock. "Hey Reynolds, get the rear doors opened. Kaeo is taking double the shipment. Did you see Songxie head in?" Rock asks, leaning through the window. Reynolds gives a puzzled look and says "Merde (shit)…I was in the grocery for a while…what did that degenerate do?" Rock shakes his head and says "Nothing. He made things awkward and then all of us fixed it, so everything's fine. Now the door, Reynolds." "Already unlocked," Reynolds replies. Rock turns toward the rear door and opens it, reaching for a drug package that was hidden under the seat. He hands the package to Thinh and says "Enjoy."

As Thinh and Quan return to the fight club, Revy exits with money in her right hand. "Here's the $50 you betted, plus a Benjamin in winnings. Today ain't so bad after all, heh," Revy comments as the two enter Reynolds' car. Sitting in the car at their original spots, Rock and Revy slouch in their respective spots. "Eh bien (well)…where next?" Reynolds asks, eating a sugar filled laobing (Chinese pancake) out of a plastic tray. "You know Tinsulaananda Phatipatanawong? Called Tinsul by basically everyone? You know his place near the Phoenix Bar?" Revy asks, noticing that the drug package under the empty seat is gone. She stares at the space underneath the driver seat and spots the final drug package. Reynolds sets his snack back in the tray and says "I know the Phoenix Bar. I'll get there and you'll tell me the rest of the directions."

The Volvo starts moving, entering the left lane of traffic. Rock looks at Revy and says "Good call with the street fight. Risky, but I can't argue with the results." Revy smirks and says "Takahashi hired both of us to do the negotiations. I gotta pitch in as well, before you're door-to-door salesmanship holds us back, haha." Rock muffles a laugh and grows silent for a few seconds, and then asks "So, you know Tinsul?" Revy's demeanor turns stern and annoyed as she says "Yep." Rock pauses for a second and inquires further "So, what do you know about him?" "He's a cunt," Revy quickly replies, eyes staring at nothingness. Rock stares at Revy for a few more seconds and says "So…anything beside him being a cunt?" Revy continues to stare off into outer space and replies "Nope." Rock glances at a slightly bemused Reynolds and asks further "So, he IS a cunt. That's it?" "Yep," Revy nonchalantly replies. Rock starts chuckling and says "So Raymond Takahashi, Japanese businessman from Hawaii and University of Hawaii graduate, is hiring Black Lagoon Company to negotiate a methamphetamine distribution contract…with an actual, genuine vagina?" Revy starts chuckling as well and replies "Well, when you put it that way…pretty fucking much."

The Volvo stops in front of an apartment complex, with various Roanapur residents shuffling in and out of the building. On a few of the floors, Rock and Revy spot assorted residents drying their clothes on their balconies. Rock reaches for the 3rd and final drug package as Revy blurts out "We'll be back in less than 30 minutes, either with the deal finished or with us covered in blood and guts." Rock and Revy exit the Volvo and step onto the sidewalk, facing the apartment building. As Revy approaches the entrance, Rock asks "So, do we ask for money up front or float him the 90 grand?" Revy bursts out laughing and says "Float 90k? For Tinsul? You got to be clinically retarded to do that!"

Rock and Revy enter the lobby of the dirty apartment. "Point taken," Rock says as Revy hits the elevator button. After a minute wait, the elevator doors open up and an elderly Thai woman holding a cane exits the elevator. Rock and Revy enter the elevator, with Rock next to the button dashboard. "Hit floor 9, it's one of the top floors I think," Revy says as Rock stares at the buttons. The floors extend all the way to 12th floor, with the button for the 9th floor right underneath it. Rock presses the button and watches the elevator doors close.

The elevator hums for a while until it stops on the 6th floor. A Thai man stares at Rock and Revy and says "Lng? (Down)", pointing downward with his finger. "Up," Rock says, pointing upward with his own finger. After a wait, the elevator doors close again as the elevator resumes its ascension. Shortly afterwards, the elevator opens on the 9th floor, as a pair of shirtless Thai men, each wearing jeans and sandals and holding Glock 19s, climb off a folded wooden table and approach Rock and Revy. "You on the wrong floor, jaao mae (female gangster) and jaao por (male gangster)," the Thai gangster on the left calls out, waving his Glock at them. Rock waves his package of crystal meth at the Thai gangster as Revy says "Fuck off and take us to Tinsul. We're here to talk business." The Thai gangster, having a thin goatee and wavy black hair with a widow's peak, turns to his friend, exchanges looks with him, and then turns to Revy. "Alright, jik kee (brash woman). Name's Kamol. You want to see Tinsul, you and your friend have to be frisked. Them the rules," the man continues, identifying himself. Revy quickly draws a Cutlass out of her track suit, pointing the gun at Kamol. A second later, Rock skillfully draws his M9 and aims it at Kamol's friend.

"Lay a finger on me and you'll be frisking your skull for lead. Now fuck off and take us to Tinsul!" Revy yells, her aim steady, as Rock's gun slightly shakes. Kamol shakes his head and says "Do you want to do this, phuhying hakin (whore)? We own this entire floor, have armed men in every room, you seuu beuu (idiot)." Suddenly, an overweight, shirtless, bald Thai man in brown cargo shirts, walking barefoot, steps out of an apartment and says "Eyy? What's going on over here, Kamol…Revy! It's been too long! The party can now begin!" Revy takes a deep breath and whispers to herself "Great…the walking turd himself." The fat man motions the Thai gangsters to lower their guns and approaches Rock and Revy, saying "What brings you here…and who are you, Mr. Hawaii shirt…and what's this in your hands?" Rock waves the drug package at the fat man and says "My name's Rock. I'm Revy's partner. We are here to offer you and your associates a position as drug distributors for Mr. Raymond Takahashi." "Oh! The bread man is playing with needles, I see. And nice name…Rock. Rock…Wock. Ha, I thought I was the only man your life, Revy," the fat man laughs, smiling at the two. Revy's face turns red with anger as she hisses "Listen Tinsul, you malignant cunt! Let's establish some fucking ground rules. You and I never happened and never will happen. Not even in your dreams, day dreams or otherwise. And if you try to touch my tits again…fuck, if you so much as think of touching my tits again, I'll do more than break your fucking nose. I'll cut your nuts off, scoop your eyeballs out, and place your balls in the sockets, fucking alright?"

Tinsul starts chuckling and says "I know you say what you mean, Revy. That's why I like you and your honkers, and the way they went *beep beep* that one time." Revy starts boiling in rage as Rock angrily yells out "Are we here to play 'Guess Who?' or are we here to negotiate?" Tinsul smirks at Rock and stares at him, Rock's M9 pointed at Tinsul's gut. "Big talk over there, hum noi (small dick)", Tinsul insults, laughing at Rock. "Do you want me to shoot you?" Rock asks, his gun shaking. "I want to see you actually pull through, hua quay (dickhead)," Tinsul replies, still smirking, his eyes glued to Rock's shaking pistol. He turns his glance toward Revy's Cutlass, aiming steadily at his heart, and continues "Ey, I'm just joking you see! C'mon, let's do this business thing, let's make this money and get this party started!"

Tinsul, facing Rock and Revy, turns left toward an apartment room as Rock and Revy grudgingly follow. Revy nudges Rock and whispers "If we finish this deal without me killing anyone, I'll buy you dinner." Tinsul approaches the door and knocks once. Rock whispers back "Why would Takahashi want to work with this guy?" The door creaks open and Tinsul exchanges words with another Thai gangster. Revy whispers to Rock "Fuck me, I don't know. The guy is more likely to put all the meth up his nose then sell it. Fucking cuntface thinks that everyone loves him."

"Head in, c'mon," Tinsul says, waving Rock and Revy into the apartment. Rock and Revy follow to find seven Thai gangsters, alternating between jeans and cargo shorts, sleeveless cotton shirts and no shirts, and tattoos, shuffling through the rooms of the apartment. On the immediate right is a dirty kitchen, while in front of them is the living room and a window to the balcony. On the left is a shelf holding an old TV and a stereo, while in the middle, a wooden table holds stacks of CDs, with two Thai gangsters drawing on the CDs in red marker. "We got a nice operation going here. New age piracy, motherfuckers! We hitting the internet with AKs and RPGs and shit! We got some PCs in the back downloading music. We then burn the shit onto CDs and sell them on the streets. Shit's selling faster than porn in prison, bitches! I love the farang (Westerners), I fucking love those bitches!" Tinsul obnoxiously yells out, enjoying himself.

He reaches down for the CD that has the phrase 'Red Chili Hot Poppers' scribbled on in red marker. "EY Pravat, you stupid naa hee (cuntface)! It's Red…HOT…Chili…PEPPERS, get it fucking right!" Tinsul yells at a Thai gangster dressed in jeans and a white sleeveless shirt. The Thai gangster silently nods and turns toward the RHCP CDs with a red marker. Tinsul motions Rock and Revy into a back room that probably was once a bedroom, now a work station for software piracy. Two Thai gangsters are hard at work in burning music onto blank CDs, sitting by a wooden table near a wall, with two PCs in front of them. A small work desk stands opposite the two gangsters, with a CD player on the desk.

Tinsul seats himself behind the desk, places his arms behind his head, and arcs his back, letting his gut protrude outward. "America keeps pumping out this grunge and funk rock shit. Catchy stuff. We selling Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Lenny Kravitz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and much more. Planning on burning some of the rap scene too. The teenagers here in Thailand are eating the shit up! Here, check this bitch out!" Tinsul promotes, reaching for the CD player. He opens it, removes the CD inside, and places in the 'Red Chili Hot Poppers' disk. Closing the CD player, Tinsul presses play, as the first song in the pirated CD, "Taste the Pain", plays.

The CD player sounds out, as one of the gangsters turns around to face Tinsul and his guests, holding a M1917 revolver on his lap.

"Look at that sound quality motherfuckers! It took a couple of weeks, but we finally found a source where the music ain't all choppy and shit. Say, ya want a CD Revy, go take one. Not you, Rock. No CD for you, haha," Tinsul laughs as Revy grinds her teeth in rage. She pries the package of meth out of Rock's hand and slams it on the desk. "90 grand, American. Next shipment will be from one of Takahashi's men. 3 pounds, crystal meth. Take it or fuck off!" Revy hisses, her eyes glaring violently at Tinsul. Tinsul starts smiling and says "Hey, bread man got the ya ice (ice drug)! Oh I'm gonna party tonight!" As Tinsul starts tearing at the package with his bare hands, Revy adds "Cash up front, Tinsul. Take a sample, but Takahashi ain't running a fucking charity!"

"Of course, jaao mae. Of course. PRAVAT! GET 90 GRAND FROM SAFE! AMERICAN NOTES, NOT BAHT!" Tinsul yells as he tears the package open. Sticking his right hand into the package, he grabs a book that says "Bạỵchī yæk prap̣heth bạỵchī (Accounting ledger)" with his left hand and sets it on the desk in front of him. Tinsul fishes a shard of meth out and places the shard on the ledger. He raises his right fist into the air, and then slams it three times on the ledger, crushing the shard into smaller fragments. He pulls out a 20 baht note and rolls it into a 'straw'. Tinsul uses the tip of the money straw to separate some of the fragments and group them into a rough line. He then places the tip of the baht right above the closest end of the line and leans his head closer.

*Snort*

"Wow, that is some fucking…holy shit! Complements to the chef…oh fuck! It kicks like a fucking jackham…I have never tasted crystal that fucking clean before! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tinsul yells out, jumping out of his seat. He starts dancing like an idiot to the music. The two Thai gangsters by the PCs start chuckling between each other, as Pravat returns with a sack full of money. Pravat simply stands by a wall and drops the sack to the ground.

Tinsul starts bobbing his head, letting the shabu flow through his veins. "WHO THE BADDEST MOTHERFUCKER IN ROANAPUR? TINSUL, THAT'S FUCKING WHO! FUCK YEAH!" Tinsul boasts, high off the crystal meth. He stares at Rock, and then at Revy, sending an aggressive smirk at her. Revy subtly waves the Cutlass in her hand and says "You fucking happy now? Can we go?" Tinsul smirks and says "Almost, jaao mae, almost! You are my guests, and you made my fucking day, so I'm feeling in the giving mood. Did you try the crystal yourself?" Revy rolls her eyes and says "No, and I'm not taking a line if that's what you're saying." "I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU, BITCH! I was talking to your boyfriend Rocky. So, have you tried the ya ice?" Tinsul yells out, his body twitching. Rock nervously looks around and notices a pair of Thai gangsters right behind him and Revy, both holding sawed off shotguns. Pravat himself draws a MAB Model D pistol and glares at Rock, as the Thai gangster that previously did not display a gun suddenly brandishes a MAB PA-15 pistol.

Revy draws her second Cutlass and draws out possible shooting scenarios in her head, as one of the shotgun wielding gangsters nudges Rock's back with the buttstock of his shotgun. Rock stares at Tinsul and says "…No. I didn't." Tinsul laughs and retrieves another 20 baht note, rolling the money up. He extends the rolled up note in his hands, saying "Have a hit." Rock nervously stares at the Thai gangsters and says "Look, I do not use shabu." "Are you saying that Takahashi is selling me an inferior product?" Tinsul hisses, occasionally sending smirks at a horrified Revy. She quietly whispers into Rock's ear "Rock, we might be able to take these fuckers down." Rock subtly and quickly shakes his head and holsters his M9, attempting to rely on his silver tongue. "You tried the stuff yourself, you loved it. You said it was the best you ever had," Rock nervously negotiates with Tinsul. Tinsul starts laughing hysterically, creates another rough line with his fingers, and says "To cement our friendship and shit, Rocky. You and me, we're tight now. Friends. NOW TAKE THE HIT!"

Rock takes an anxious step forward, realizing that he and Revy could both easily receive a shotgun blast into their backs. "Rock…" a horrified and furious Revy whispers. Rock ignores Revy and grabs the 20 baht note, as Tinsul pushes the ledger toward Rock.

Rock bends his neck forward as Revy looks away, unable to watch. He sticks one end of the 20 baht note in his right nostril, the other end hovering over the rough line that Tinsul made. Rock's heart rate accelerates to a rapid rhythm as the Thai gangsters look on in interest.

" _I think I'll pay the price,"_ the lyrics replay in Rock's head.

*Snort*


	7. Sell High, Buy Low

The CD player plays, beginning the song "Nobody Weird Like Me" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A rolled up 20 baht note falls out of Rock's hand and rolls on the wooden desk, next to an accounting ledger that's sprinkled with fragments of crystal meth. The pupils on Rock's eyes quickly dilate as his body starts twitching. A blank look takes over Rock's face as he starts breathing heavily. Tinsul starts laughing at the sight of Rock high off of crystal meth and pulls the accounting ledger back. "Haha, this some good stuff ehh? Now take your money and fuck off, cause I got a date with this icy lady haha!" Tinsul yells as he readies his 20 baht note for another snort of crystal.

Pravat hands over the heavy sack of money to a pissed off Revy, who has holstered one of her Cutlasses and kept the other in her left hand. She darts furious looks at the Thai gangsters in the room, before turning to Tinsul and saying "Enjoy the crystal. Hope you take so much that you get a heart attack and die, you fat fuck!" Tinsul simply snickers and jumps from euphoria with every snort as Revy turns to Rock and nudges his right arm with her Cutlass. Rock jerks his right arm away and grinds his teeth, turning around and giving Tinsul a murderous look. Tinsul winks at Rock and resumes to his business, as Rock steps out of the room by himself. Revy follows as the two exit the apartment and turn toward the elevators. Rock stares at the down button on the elevator and aggressively mashes it, grinding his teeth again. Kamol, sitting on a wooden table, stares on in amusement and says "Had fun with Tinsul, hehe?"

Rock quickly turns around and lunges at Kamol, grabbing him tightly by his right shoulder. As Rock stares at Kamol, appearing ready rip Kamol's head open, he looks down and notices Kamol's Glock 19 aimed at Rock's abdomen. Rock slowly lets go of his grip and turns toward the elevator door, as Revy shakes her head in disgust, holstering her other Cutlass.

The elevator doors slide open. As the two prepare to step inside, Kamol yells out "Next time, keep your junkie boyfriend on a fucking lease!" As Rock twitches and prepares to turn around, Revy restrains him and shoves him into the elevator, pinning him to a wall as the elevator doors shut behind them.

After restraining Rock for a few more seconds, she lets go of him and quickly mashes the button to the ground floor. Turning around, she stares Rock in his eyes and says "You're high. That feeling in your head? That accelerated heart beat? It's the shitload of adrenaline that is running through your veins. Meth, kinda like coke, makes you feel like your fucking perfect, like your hot shit, and that anything that suggests otherwise makes you feel pissed off. When you are pissed off while on meth, you got the increased aggression and confidence boost to smash what pisses you off into pieces. Try to fucking restrain yourself, alright? You know the shit has hit the fan when I become the voice of fucking reason!"

Rock simply glares at her and replies "Is it addictive?" Revy fails to restrain a laugh and says "Of course it's fucking addictive!" Rock freezes in his tracks and points his right index finger at Revy's face, hissing at her. The elevator stops on the 3rd floor. The elevator doors open to reveal a Thai woman holding an infant in her arms. A jolt anger strikes Rock's brain as he draws his M9 and aims it at the terrified Thai woman, saying "FUCK OFF!" The Thai woman screams, shields her infant away from Rock, and runs away from the elevator. As the elevator door closes again, Revy says "Rock, calm the fuck down…" Rock grips tightly on his M9 and yells "I'M ON CRYSTAL FUCKING METH, REVY! HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO FUCKING CALM DOWN?"

Revy shoves Rock to the elevator wall, dropping the sack of money and grabbing onto both of his wrists. As she pins him to the wall, the M9 goes off, leaving a hole in the elevator floor. "You can start by putting your fucking gun away, you lunatic!" Rock starts laughing, holstering his M9 pistol. As Revy picks up the sack of money, Rock says "You're calling me a lunatic…wow! This is what rock fucking bottom must feel like!" The elevator reaches the ground floor. As the doors slide open, Revy says "No, you haven't hit rock bottom. You haven't even sunk below Death Valley yet! Fuck, you barely went past the bottom of the killer whale pool in fucking Seaworld. Now calm the fuck down, let us return to Takahashi, and then we can call it a fucking day!"

As Revy and Rock walk toward the exit of the apartment complex, Rock snickers and says "I was about to shoot a baby Revy! I am like you, a fucking psycho, haha! I am a fucking drug dealing scumbag, and I love it!" Revy shakes her head and says "You're fucking high, Rocky. It's that chemical release in your brain, dopamine I think it's called. Calm yourself down and let it wear off. The main rush is about to wear off soon. The next, smaller high is gonna last several hours. And no, you weren't going to shoot no fucking baby. Are you going to fucking behave or should I call a cab and tell Reynolds to fuck off?"

Rock's body twitches as he replies "You know Revy? I felt like this before. Remember that mercenary in the helicopter, the one that wanted us and the torpedo boat to play chicken with him?" Revy sighs and says "Yeah, I remember. I remember you shouting a line at him as if you were Pike Bishop." Rock lets out a laugh and says "He sure got fucked…yeah. The same feeling as I have now, almost the same. I felt such a rush…such a strong rush…are you okay, Revy?" Revy heaves another sigh and says "No. I am pissed off that Tinsul forced you to shove ice up your nose, and I have half a mind to come back up and wipe those fuckers out."

Rock quickly shakes his head and says "No! Then Takahashi won't pay us the 2 grand for the deal, and might not pay us at all! We need $1,600 to pay for the car, and I don't want to have snorted meth for no reason. Fucking hell, what the fuck has happened to me?" Rock takes a step back and rubs his forehead in distress, muttering incomprehensible nonsense. He steps to a wall and sits down by it, his body occasionally twitching. Revy kneels down by him and says "You'll be okay, Rock. I tried crystal before, as well. Yes, it is addictive, but you're strong enough to not get addicted. Honestly, you're reacting kind of strangely to it."

Rock replies with a smirk and smiles, saying "You know, I do feel good right now, and I am not scared that I will turn into an addict. It's actually what's been on my mind lately, and this shabu is making my mind think about that stuff with greater focus. I don't know…" "Don't know what?" Revy asks, looking concerned. Rock looks up and makes eye contact with Revy, asking "Do you consider yourself a sociopath, functioning or otherwise?" Revy smirks and says "I've been called that before. Don't really care for the armchair shrink shit. What, you been thinking about whether or not you're a sociopath?" Rock heaves a sigh and says "I've been having thoughts…had a vivid dream. I don't know, maybe it started after I killed Luca, or after I killed that pirate…but yeah. Before that speech I gave you, after the hobo thing…yeah."

Revy blankly stares at Rock, her tone suddenly shifting. She looks him in the eye and says "Sympathy? Nothing for me. No mercy for a criminal fuck-up in a place like this. This place is like the jungle…shark mentality prevails, eat the wounded. In a place where everyone is guilty by association, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only sin is being a fucking idiot. 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', Hunter S. Thompson. I think that is more or less what he wrote." Rock smirks and says "First Shakespeare quotes, now Hunter S. Thompson? Never knew you were a reader."

Revy shakes her head and says "The Shakeswhatever quote was from a magazine I read. But yeah, I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, plus a few other books. 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Nietzsche. 'Heart of Darkness', by Joseph Conrad. 'Confessions of an English Opium Eater', by Thomas De Quincey. Dutch gave me those books to read, said they helped him understand how this side of the world works, and the people here. Course, I didn't exactly read them with ease, being that back then, I was kinda illiterate. Took a couple of years to finish them…useful stuff. Nowadays, I don't read books…I just read whatever else I could get my hands on. Magazines…newspaper ads…anything to practice my reading. I mean, my father fucked a lot of shit up for me, but there's no way that I'm going to live through life not knowing how to read. I don't care how you make a living…that's just fucking embarrassing."

Rock looks at Revy for a few seconds, and replies "Interesting…I read a few books…one's that help me understand this place as well. Required reading in business schools in Japan…Sun Tzu's 'Art of War…Miyamoto Musashi's 'Book of Five Rings'. I have copies of them, back in my room, if you want a read. Both aren't difficult reads, either. And yeah, they are in English."

Revy smirks and says "I might take you up on that offer. Didn't exactly have any 'required' reading in my life. Kinda hard to when your daddy pulls you out of first grade so he could use you as a pickpocket to fund his liquor and smack habit. Fucking heroin junkie…whatever." Rock replies with a blank face and says "So you are looking at me with disgust right now, right?" Revy rolls her eyes and says "I already said that you're not going to get addicted. Fuck, Rocky baby, I know an addict when I see one. Right now, your mind is getting introduced to meth, and so it is making you act like an idiot. Good thing I'm here to keep your ass from getting shot, heh." Rock slowly nods and says "Yeah, I guess I am committing Roanapur's only sin. Alright Revy, I think I can handle myself. Let's get this job done and head home."

As the two pirates get on their feet, Revy grabs Rock by his right shoulder with her left hand and says "I've done my share of stupid shit before. Just make sure that your stupidity doesn't get you killed. This kind of world usually doesn't give out second chances." Rock smirks to himself, realizing how ridiculous his brief moment of vulnerability was to anyone that would have seen him. "Alright, let's get paid," he says, stepping through doors to the streets of Roanapur, struggling to keep the effects of the shabu at bay.

Rock approaches Reynolds' Volvo, moving at a faster pace due to the adrenaline running through his body. He hurriedly sits in the seat behind the empty front-side passenger seat, as Revy lags behind with the sack of money in hand. As Revy enters the car and sits behind Reynolds, Reynolds turns around and says "You got the pognon (dough), oui (yes)? The money?" Rock hurriedly replies "Yes, yes. Take us to Takahashi." Reynolds eyes Rock curiously and says "You défoncé (stoned)?" Are you high?" Revy interjects and says "Long story short, it was either Rock takes a hit of meth, or we both would have taken hits to our backs. As in shotgun shells. Motherfucker…well…Tinsul is now Takahashi's problem."

Reynolds pulls the car back onto the middle of the road and speeds away from the apartment complex. "You did smart. Takahashi would appreciate that…or at least I think. Making more money for the organization and all," Reynolds replies, eyes glued to the road. After stopping in front of a red light, he adds "I got a call from back in the factory. They received the money from Kaeo. Songxie, on the other hand, is still being nursed at the fight club. One of my coworkers, name is Apuna, maybe you met him…he got the crystal to Mongkut. No word on Takahashi's response about it, but you'll find out soon. Quand meme (regardless), I appreciate both of your work in helping me keep a steady income stream. When you two are done, want to go for un coup (a drink)? Get a drink?"

Revy keeps her eyes on the agitated Rock and replies "Got to take a rain check on that. I don't think Rock should be outside for more than necessary for today, no fucking offense, Rock." Rock snorts at Revy and turns his attention away. She bounces off mental images of Tinsul hanging from a noose in her imagination and adds "But yea Reynolds, the three of us can get a drink some time a bit later. We'll swap numbers when we're back at the factory. I'd appreciate a lift to Adeyemi's place to pay for the repairs, and then another one back home. Thanks." "You got it," Reynolds replies, turning the Volvo right, and then immediately left, passing a carpark. The Thai sun nearly completes its descent, as the once orange sky turns darker and darker. Crossing large intersection, Reynolds switches on the headlights for his Volvo.

Arriving at the factory, Reynolds parks his car over Songxie's 'reserved' parking spot. "I doubt he'll have the energy to smash my car…" Reynolds mutters to himself, as Rock and Revy exit the Volvo, Revy holding on to the bag of cash. Reynolds rolls down the driver side window and pulls out his cell phone. Revy retrieves her cell phone as Rock follows suit. Reynolds gives Rock and Revy his number first, which the two save into their contact lists. Rock then gives Reynolds his number, followed by Revy. Rock and Revy then nod at Reynolds and head toward the fence, as Reynolds leaves his car and locks it. Reynolds fishes out a key and opens the fence, taking the lead, as Rock and Revy follow. The three approach the same door that they walked through earlier in the day, with Reynolds unlocking the door with another key. "You know where to go, I'll be tending to my business. If I'm not in the car, give a call," Reynolds remarks, walking toward the hallway on the first floor as Revy and Rock head toward the stairs.

Reaching the 2nd floor, Revy and Rock approach Takahashi's office. Rock hurriedly knocks five times on the door, not hearing a response. He quickly reaches for the knob and turns it, opening the door to find Takahashi eating a ham and swiss cheese croissant sandwich. Rock and Revy take a seat in front of Takahashi's desk as Takahashi raises his right hand and winces, chewing his dinner. After swallowing, he glares at Revy, and then at Rock, and says "What the hell was going on over there? I suddenly hear that Kaeo is taking extra meth, my partner Songxie is in some dirty medical office, and a man claiming to be Tinsul was screaming in the phone, saying how he wants to set up my head chemist with a prostitute. Can you please let your employer know what's going?"

As Rock prepares to open his mouth, Revy slightly raises her left hand at Rock, signaling him to shut up. "Alright, let me go from the start. We arrived first at Kaeo's place, where we were about to seal the deal, and possibly get more money out of it, when Songxie showed up and almost ruined everything. Then, he told Kaeo that his deal with Mongkut was settled for 90 grand, which ruined our chance of making extra money. Being that you asked for all three packages to be sold, I wagered an extra 3 pounds with Kaeo. Kaeo and I know each other, since I used to fight at her club. Songxie was the fighter, against this steroid jackass. He won, but got the wind knocked out of him. Kaeo, as a result, took the extra 3 pounds and you made an extra $90,000. The deal with Tinsul went…well, and here's your money. 90 gees," Revy concludes, placing the sack of money by the desk. She looks at a perplexed Takahashi and adds "Alright, I understand that I am not getting the extra $90,000, that's clear. However, you asked us to sell 9 pounds of meth, and we did that. Therefore, we deserve the 6 grand that you promised to pay us."

Takahashi jumps from his desk and yells out "$6,000? I hired you to negotiate with these mobsters, not play craps with my product! I said '$2,000 for each successful negotiation'. Did you negotiate with Mongkut? NO! That is $2,000 off of your pay. You get $4,000, and be lucky that you even get that! As for what I see, Songxie won the fight and sealed the deal, not you. But I'm going to be generous, so show some goddamned RESPECT!" Revy stares at Takahashi with a shocked, laughing look on her face. Drawing out a few laughs, she exclaims "Look at the nerve of this guy over here! You got some real balls, you rip-off motherfucker! You…are telling me…to show you respect…when your illiterate fuckface partner reduced my car to a freak show exhibit and you don't do jack shit about it. I'll remember this, you four-eyed fuck!"

"Excuse me? You 5 cent hooker! Do you have any clue as to how much I am going to make? I am who I am, because I run things MY WAY, and I will not have some corner street WHORE tell me what to do!" Takahashi yells, to which Revy prepares to draw a Cutlass. Rock restrains her before Takahashi could realize that is life was almost extinguished. "We'll ta-take the money and be on our way. Thank you!" Rock replies, his speech hurried as his body twitches. Takahashi leans toward Rock and examines his eyes. Stunned and furious, he asks "Did you snort my product?"

"It was either that or the both of us would have been shot! It was the Thai boss' idea, Tinsul!" Rock exclaims, taking a step back. "YOU…JUNKIE! I cannot believe that my product was represented by an addict! I thought you were a professional, not an embarrassment like you look like right now! You shameful piece of trash!" Takahashi yells, as Rock and Revy stare in stunned anger. As Revy again prepares to reach for a Cutlass, Rock places his right hand in front of her to stop her, his mouth agape in wonder of Takahashi's one-track mind. "Can…we…can we just take our money and LEAVE?" Rock yells as Takahashi shakes his head in disgust and reaches for the bag of money. He opens the bag and mutters "Why are all these in $20 bills?" Fishing through the contents, he retrieves two stacks of $2,000 consisting of $20 bills, and tosses one each to Rock and Revy. "Go on! Get out of my sight, you disgusting cretins!" Takahashi adds, as Revy snarls at Takahashi and Rock heads for the door. The two exit the door, both of their bodies tense. "Get me the fuck out of here…" Revy mutters under her breath, smoldering in anger.

Rock and Revy exit the facility and head toward Reynolds' Volvo, with Reynolds nowhere in sight, each clutching tightly to their pay. Revy stares at Rock with a pissed off look in her eyes and pockets her 2 grand. Rock spots this and approaches her, speaking at 100 miles per hour "Revy, Revy! We got paid yes, yes? Don't be angry, I don't want to see you angry. STOP BEING PISSED OFF!" Revy takes a step back and glares with discomfort at Rock, who is clearly struggling with his meth high.

The sky goes completely dark as Rock and Revy struggle to see anything outside of a 5 meter radius. Rock pockets his pay and pulls out a cigarette and lights it, the embers on the cigarette being the only source of light within a 5 meter radius. His body suddenly twitches more frequently as he says "Tha, tha, that…that! Addict…I am not an addict…no, no, no, no, no. I want to see him being put in a screwed position like we were…oh yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! YES! REVY, YES!" Revy seats herself on the hood of Reynolds' car and says "You sure you don't want us to get back in there and collect our other 2 grand from 'Mister Fucking Bean'?"

Rock raises his left hand into the air, his left index finger sticking out. He hurriedly replies "Baka wa shinanakya naoranai. My people have that as a saying. It means stupid will not be cured of stupid until stupid is dead. See, Revy? I may be a junkie for a day, but tomorrow, I'll be clean and sober, or maybe drunk and sober, haha. And while that happens, Takahashi will be stupid forever, haha!"

Revy looks at Rock with a perplexed look on her face and says "What the fuck are you talking about?" Rock cries out "I DON'T KNOW, REVY! Not knowing is Buddha, Revy, you see? Another saying from my people, we are full of sayings! We are also full of weird holidays, and crazy advertisements. Fuck, my homeland is crazy and strange! Did you know that we have a festival where people celebrate cocks? Yea, they carry around a giant penis on their shoulders and parade it around…how weird is that? You Americans are weird too, but I like your kind of weird. Fuck, I am an embarrassment to my people, haha!""…What?" Revy mutters, her hands outstretched as she listens on in confusion.

Rock starts laughing and says "Yep, I am an embarrassment to my people, and guess what? I fucking love it. I am a murdering, meth dealing scumbag, and I love it! Did you know that my grandpa was drafted during WW2? Yea, he was, as, as, was in Guam. Fought during the 2nd battle. He even knew that crazy man Shōichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier that hid in a cave in Guam for decades after the war was over. And one other thing! Shōichi Yokoi and Hiroo Onoda pretend the war never ended and they return as heroes, but Nakamura held out the longest and people try to pretend he doesn't exist because he was from Taiwan? What the fuck is that? And the whole shit about Hiroshima and Nagasaki? I mean what happened, what the fuck happened? It was warfare, for fuck sake. It was war, WAR! This is a country whose leaders studied Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' as their bible, and they are trying to say that it was unfair to use a nu-nu-nuclear bomb? I mean, remember! 'Imagine what your enemy can do if your enemy can do everything!' That is Sun Tzu's words! Do they honestly think that had they made the bomb first, that they wouldn't have used it? C'mon, we are not victims! We are a proud nation that once defeated the fucking Mongolian Empire in battle before it was in fashion, so don't make us look like victims! And we weren't going to lay down, no fucking way. The army was going to fight and fuck and blow shit up as the Americans would arrive, and then even more would die. I'm talking about total fucking annihilation, everyone, my family! Their family! It would have been the Rape of fucking Kagoshima, of Kyoto, of fucking everything! I wouldn't fucking exist! Knowing my family, that wouldn't be such a fucking bad thing after all, haha. Wow, what the fuck, two cities getting assfucked with no Vaseline is a good thing compared to the alternative? What a fucked up world this is! And the whole 'end the bomb' shit? Fuck that, Japan should get a nuke of its own, build a real fucking military, and piss all over Article 9. Just one bomb, to show that we can, and then take it apart. Then maybe North Korea would stop fucking with Japan and kidnapping its citizens! Wait… why am I talking about Japan, when I am living here in Thailand? Anyway, back to grandpa. He was ordered to do a suicide charge in battle, but as soon as he received his orders, and when he had the chance, he ran as far as he could toward the coastline. There he dropped his Type 30 Arisaka on the ground in front of a few U.S. Marines and surrendered with a couple other soldiers. He had a wife and two kids, my aunt and my father, he didn't want to die for bullshit! And guess what? At least once a year, some idiot sent an anonymous letter to my grandpa telling him to kill himself because he shamed the country. And the police? Completely fucking use-useless, yea. That idiot kept sending him these fucking letters until one day, he drops dead from a heart attack. You know, you Americans have done some fucked up shit. You almost wiped out your Native populations, you did some bad shit to your own people, to other people. But at least you don't force members of your own populace to do suicide attacks for 'country'. You treat money like it's king, because it IS KING! You don't pretend to think otherwise, because you do not take any bullshit! I love it, fucking love it! Cause in America, you are the most important person, you! Not country. YOU! That's how it should be, that's how it fucking should be. None of this 'group harmony' bullshit, none of this 'go kill yourself so all your coworkers keep their jobs', NO! In America, I am the most important person in my life, and everyone else could go fuck themselves! And in Thailand, in Roanapur, even more so! A worship of drugs, guns, money, gangsters! A place built on brute force! I don't need to go to America because this is even more American! The American dream is in Roanapur, it ain't in America! I love this place, oh how I am an embarrassment!"

Revy listens on to Rock's rant and starts chuckling, saying "You know, two years ago, I would have already knocked you out so you'd shut up. I guess if there's anything you with your Japanese stuff has taught me, it's how to be patient." Rock starts nodding aggressively, taking a drag from his cigarette. He replies "Yes! Because we don't get shot, and Takahashi stays stupid forever! Haha! You see what I mean?" Revy chuckles and says "I've been hearing stuff about penis parades and anonymous letters and group harmony. If I'd not known any better, I'd say you just gone faggot." "Haha, very fucking funny, Revy! Very…fu-funny, ha!" Rock replies as Revy climbs off the car and pats him on his left shoulder.

Rock smiles and adds "It ain't Stockholm Syndrome, Revy. I'm just as sick a bastard as you are!" Revy chuckles and says "Rock, you're lucky that two years working together, and our recently begun…yeah…together, taught me to tolerate your shit. Now take it easy, Rock. We still got to meet up with Adeyemi, and right now, you're acting more ridiculous then him."

Rock simply snickers at Revy and returns to his own world, higher than a 747. As he finishes his cigarette, Revy retrieves her cell phone. As soon as she calls Reynolds' number, she spots Reynolds exiting the door of the office portion of the factory and hangs up. Rock tosses his cigarette to the ground as Reynolds approaches, stomping the cigarette out with his right foot. "I really should remember to lock that fence…" Reynolds mutters as he approaches Rock and Revy. He adds "Désolé (sorry), I was taking a leak." "Thanks, just what I wanted to find out," Revy sarcastically replies, heading toward the backseat behind the front-side passenger seat. Rock heads toward the seat behind the driver seat as Reynolds heads toward the driver seat and unlocks the car. He then unlocks the other doors, allowing Rock and Revy to seat themselves inside the Volvo. All the car doors are slammed shut as Reynolds asks "To the mechanic, oui?" Rock gives Reynolds the thumbs up gesture as Revy digs herself into her seat.

Arriving at Adeyemi's auto garage, only to find it closed, Revy yells "Fuck! Whatever, I guess. We'll meet Adeyemi tomorrow. Can you drive us to our place? It's one of those studios that's on Pak Kret Road. Just follow the Gautama Parkway until you take a right on Ambedkar Street, then take a left on Pak Kret Road." "Comme un poisson natatoire dans l'eau (like a fish competitively swimming in water), no problem," Reynolds replies.

A fifteen minute drive and suddenly the Volvo enters a large parkway, flanked on each side by large, expensive apartments and palm trees. The Volvo briskly cruises through the mostly empty streets, as Revy retrieves her pay and proceeds to count the 20s. After counting to a hundred, she pockets her pay in her tracksuit and asks "So, Reynolds…how'd you meet up with Takahashi? They sell crystal meth in France?" Reynolds twitches and replies "C'est des conneries (what a load of shit)! What, because I am black, the only way I can make money is to prostitute myself on a street corner?" Revy quickly replies "Hey, calm the fuck down, Jacques Mesrine. I didn't mean nothing by it."

Reynolds waves his right hand and says "It's nothing, just old habits. I doubt that you even know much about the stereotype in the first place. Nah, growing up in a French ghetto, you get labeled as street trash pretty quickly. People like to pretend that we don't exist, that America and England are full of projects and street thugs and that France is a place where everyone just smokes cigarettes, eats pastries, and piss off tourists. I mean, people look at France and think that our fights are less violent, our gang violence is less brutal, our slums are less destructive. When I was ten, I didn't wake up to take a nice stroll through the Tuileries. When I was ten, I was lucky to wake up on a mattress with a roof over my head! And when they do recognize that people like me do exist, they quickly shuffle us off as menaces to society! But not me, no. I beat the system! I don't starve selling stupéfiants (narcotics) on a street corner!"

"Holy fucking shit, I don't give a shit if you are black and successful! It was just a fucking comment, you over-sensitive fuck!" Revy yells out, her eyes bulging in anger. "It's nothing, Revy. I'm just a bit irritated!" Reynolds coarsely replies. "Why the fuck are you irritated and screaming at me?" Revy angrily replies. "Because I am fucking thirsty and when I'm thirsty, I get pissed off easily over nothing!" Reynolds yells back. "Well what the fuck does that have to do with me?" Revy volleys back. "Nothing! I am just pissed off that the sink is still cassé (broken)! Broken!" Reynolds answers, his throat sore from screaming. "WELL GO UP A FUCKING FLIGHT! There's a water cooler on the 2nd floor! Jesus!" Revy screams out. Reynolds nods and says "I know, I fucking know! I just forgot! Can we fucking move on?" "Sure thing, just calm the fuck down! I can't exactly hear you through the cock stuck in your mouth!" Revy yells back, rolling her eyes and outstretching her arms in exasperation.

Rock bursts out in hysterical laughter as Reynolds smirks and says "Haha! Last time I checked, I was born French, not Greek!" Revy and Rock both join in hysterical laughter as Revy slaps the back of the empty passenger seat, saying "That's a good one."

Reynolds chuckles and says "No seriously, how I met Songxie is a long story. To escape the ghetto, I joined the French army. 3rd Infantry Marine Parachute Regiment, I think that's how they are called in English. Fought in the Rwandan Civil War, against the Patriotic Front. Got connected with those lunatics in the Hutu military. Left the French military, came back to Rwanda, and then used my connections to get some 'displaced' weapons into their hands. Made a shit load of money, and from there on, became an arms dealer. Moved on to the Algerian Civil War, selling 'procured' weapons to both sides. Then the Burundian Civil War, where I sold my hardware to both the Hutus and Tutsis. Mon dieu, so many people think that it was just the Hutus that were killing people, but the way that both sides went at each other…I stopped feeling guilty when my weapons were used by the Tutsis to very good effect. That caused a significant change in my outlook on life, and I simply stopped caring."

"How the hell you go from scraping a living in a French suburb to becoming a big shot arms dealer in Africa?" Revy asks, having trouble taking Reynolds story seriously. "Ha, chance (luck)…blind luck I think you would call it. Over time, you know people more and know what makes them do what they do. You know the ones who are in it for the patriotisme (patriotism), the ones who are in it for the fric (bread), for the pay, and then the ones who are in it for the pay and the connections and for ways to make more fric. In most battles, people die with their guns in their hands. The winning side would take the guns, but already have enough. Usually they don't need guns at that point. They need medicine, they need fric, they need actual bread…Not too hard to have a friend make a few boxes of recently confiscated Lahti-Salorantas suddenly teleport onto a boat owned by yours truly. Money was crazy and bureaucracy was incompetent…I mean this was a country that was helping those genocidal enculés (fuckheads), they didn't have enough energy and time to account for every crate. From there on, it was, as my people would say, 'les doigts dans le nez' (the fingers in the nose). It was easy, just as long as you don't be an idiot. You start up with some weapons, sell them, make connections, get money to invest in more weapons. Watch for build-ups and truces. Truces in an African country usually mean that food and medicine became more valuable then guns. Politicians become desperate to pay their commanders. Commanders become desperate to pay their soldiers, have surplus guns. I buy them for cheap. Then wait for border skirmishes, flare-ups, predict the next war, for the next war would be the next big demand. There, sell high and early before competitors sell for less, price gauge if possible. Sell to both sides, makes you more money, keeps you neutral, and extends the fighting. Almost like being a stockbroker, except you don't get jailed for knowing insider information," Reynolds concludes, resting for air after his long explanation of the job of an arms dealer.

For the first time in a while, Rock speaks out, still sounding high "Ever sold to only one client?" Laurent Reynolds sighs and says "Yea. I only had connections with Hutus during the Rwandan genocide, so I sold some weapons to them. When things got extremely bloody, I left that part of Africa for Algeria. There, my clients were both Algerian military and the Islamic rebels, the F.I.S. and the G.I.A. I grew up in France surrounded by African Muslims, so I was familiar with their customs and some of the dialect. I left shortly after the lunatics in the G.I.A. hijacked that plane that was headed to France, the one where they tried to crash it into Paris but the GIGN took them out in Aéroport de Marseille Provence (Marseille Provence Airport). I don't know if any of the hijackers were using any armes (guns) that I sold to them, but I wasn't going to stay and find out. Too many connections back in my home country, too many ways to track me, too many friends that could have gotten détruit (ruined). I returned to Central Africa and kept a low profile for a while, and then went back to buying and selling guns."

"You must be the fucking king of tangents, eh?" Revy comments, smirking to herself. Reynolds hits himself across the forehead and says "Oh yea…yea, I did sell exclusively to one client before. Burundian army, Tutsi soldiers. Kept hearing about entire Tutsi villages being wiped out in Rwanda, about Hutus chopping up Tutsi civilians with machetes. I convinced myself that it was an atonement effort, that the Tutsis would be shooting scarred, psychotic, mass murderers. I ended up watching them slaughter children and rape women, you know, what the Hutus been doing. I ended up helping the army wipe out a village of a hundred people. Worse, I didn't make money off of the Hutus, and I probably helped shorten the war by a month or so. Lesson learned: sell indiscriminately, and let your clients do the discriminating. Ha, well, that's what I went at until 97 came around. Then I started branching out into Southeast Asia. Heard about that fighting in Cambodia last summer? That mini-civil war between Hun Sen and that prince? I came into Phnom Penh with several crates of RPKs, AK-47s, Valmet M76s, Yugo AKs, and a couple other ones that looked like Kalashnikovs. Some criminal groups and a few civilians in money were feeling paranoid, so I sold off most of my merchandise. Someone got me in contact with Chang, and Chang then bought the rest of the merchandise off of me. I then did nothing in Roanapur for a while until Takahashi decided to move in. Songxie wanted someone in the organization that was familiar with the city, and Chang pointed him to me. And here I am now, with a career change. Oh and by the way, I have still yet to find the difference between the Hutus and the Tutsis."

"Some people find the most retarded of reasons to hate each other," Revy says, to which Rock stares at Revy, fixated. Reynolds sighs and says "Yeah…c'est pas le Pérou (it's not Peru), I guess it's like that everywhere. Making money off idiots that hate each other taught me that hate is bad for business. Someone always out there, ready to make money off of the stupidity of others. I think the Americans have a saying for this, 'an imbécile and his money tend to drift away'. Something like that."

As Reynolds turns left on Pak Kret Road, Revy says "You can drop us off on the corner. We can walk from there." Reynolds stops the Volvo at the corner, stopping behind a blue Citroën Fukang DC7140 hatchback car. Rock and Revy both prepare to exit the Volvo, with Revy saying "Thanks for the transport." Reynolds turns to Rock and Revy and says "It's nothing. If any of you want to head out for a drink or have any business ideas in mind, give a call. I usually respond. Take it easy, especially you, Rock." Rock and Revy step out of the car and onto the dark streets of Roanapur, waving away at Reynolds' Volvo without looking at it.

Retrieving a cigarette, Revy fishes for a lighter and pulls one out of her tracksuit pockets. She lights the cigarette and says "Crazy shit, what happened in Rwanda and all. Wonder what insane shit that Reynolds got up too. Guy probably saw more corpses then Sawyer, like wall-to-wall shit." Rock laughs, still high, his pupils still dilated. "Want to know what's really fucked up?" Rock says, his tone still hurried, with few pauses. His thoughts and ideas are focused, but his mind bounces off them like they are a trampoline. He stops in his tracks, with Revy stopping as well. She rolls her eyes and mutters "Here we go…"

"The fucked up part is, is that people kept pushing me, pulling me, saying I have to conform to this idea, or support this group. I mean, what the fuck, Revy? What the fucking fuck? Just because I don't believe that Japan is an ethnically singular country, and that I believe that all the fucked up shit that the Japanese Army committed actually did happen, and that I don't think that Emperor Akihito is a fucking deity, doesn't mean that I am training suicide bombers in the Middle East and launching rockets at the royal family with the Japanese Red Army! Just because I think Article 9 is horseshit, and that I don't want to get abducted by North Koreans, doesn't mean that I am shooting politician that say shit about the royal family and that I am annoying people while driving around in a black van that looks like it was used to rape little kids! I usually didn't even think about those things until shit happens that reminds me! I mostly just wanted to go home and watch the Yokohama F. Marinos play football...REAL FOOTBALL, and the Hanshin Tigers and Seattle Mariners play my beloved baseball! And listen to American rock music! And use what little spare time I am given to find a woman that strives to be more than a robotic, pre-programmed housewife! And that isn't so fucking rigid and humorless! And maybe actually get paid the money that I am worth! But it was hard Revy. It used to be so fucking hard? You know why?"

Revy heaves an annoyed sigh, takes a drag of her cigarette, and says "No, I don't know why. Tell me fucking why." Revy's expression suddenly turns more stern as Rock shoots her the most painful and sarcastic smirk that she has ever seen. He goes on "It's hard enough when you think of yourself as an individual. It's fucking impossible when your country doesn't think that half of you fucking exists! That tends to happen when your Buraku grandmother and your Buraku, 'cowardly' grandfather give birth to your Buraku father! Ever realized that Revy? I am not even fully Japanese, my country just thinks that half of me doesn't FUCKING EXIST! The Buraku were the peasants that did the work no one wanted to do, the one's involved with handling dead bodies. Tanners, butchers, morticians, all were looked at as unclean filth that don't belong in society. FUCKING HELLO! WHO THE FUCK WAS FEEDING YOU YOUR FUCKING MEALS? WHO WAS MAKING YOUR ANIMAL-SKINNED CLOTHES, BURYING YOUR FUCKING ANCESTORS? YOUR PARENTS! THEIR PARENTS! AND YOU GOT THE NERVE TO SAY THAT WE ARE 'FILTH' AND 'SUB-HUMAN' AND 'STREET GARBAGE', WHEN WE EVEN FUCKING LOOK JUST LIKE YOU! Did you know that my family name was not supposed to be Okajima? No, no, no! My father's parents had to change it so no one could find out that they are Buraku, a pair of morticians that could trace their ancestors to the time that they were serving the Shimazu clan in Satsuma. That's all that could be used to identify someone of Buraku descent…their fucking last name. THAT'S IT! They had no other skills when they left Kagoshima for Tokyo with a new identity…they couldn't even see their fucking family anymore! They clawed through the dirt so that they could have opened a store where they sold homemade cleaning products. And then the fascist army almost took that away by sending my grandfather to fight for a country that thinks that he is sub-human! When my grandfather told me all of this, I hated him so much! I hated him for shattering the identity of who I am. But I forgave him, and directed my Buraku self to hate the same country that my Japanese self loves. Look at me, Revy. LOOK AT ME! A gaijin in my own fucking country…a gaijin…just because my father's parents were morticians…a gaijin. Or half a gaijin…that's how my country makes me feel. They don't make me pay half of my taxes…but they make me feel like half a human being. You start struggling with which half of you is the real you…the Japanese half or the Buraku half. You start hearing the insults, seeing your fellow Buraku being spat on by your 'best friends' and employers, by your 'elders', by your politicians, by everyone! They don't realize the Buraku that's standing right in front of them. And the fucked up part is, I'm sometimes unsure if some of the people doing the insulting are Buraku that are trying to hide it. And I always wonder why I always got the shittiest assignments, the worst abuse from my superiors, the travel jobs that no one wanted. Are you going to tell me that the incompetent idiot sitting across from me, sleeping on his desk, deserves to be paid more than me? Some would say that it's from my stubborn nature but I always had suspicions. I promised my grandfather to never tell a person that I am a Buraku, but they would force me to drink…drink until I would black out…someone even published a book listing all the common Burakumin names so that everyone could discriminate against them, and single them out. The book came out months before I was born, but…but…FUCK!"

Revy simply lets the cigarette in her mouth fall out as she stares numbly at Rock with a shocked look on her face. "That's…horrible. That's so fucking horrible…fuck…I had no idea," she barely mutters, overwhelmed for a rare moment in her life. Rock continues to crack that brutal smirk and refuses to relent "You know…Revy…my fiancé that broke off the engagement? I usually blamed it on my sterility…but sometimes…at night…I wound start thinking. I mean, if the people in my work could find out someway…and her father. Her…father knew. HE FUCKING KNEW! DOES HE KNOW ABOUT THE BEAST INSIDE ME, EATING ME AWAY? Centuries of abuse and marginalization, slowly eating away everything that was good and proper in me! My old pacifism may have been born of my Japanese upbringing, but I am half-Buraku, Revy. And when you kick a dog so many times that it cannot walk, would you be that fucking surprised when it starts gnawing at the neck?"

On the street, several meters away, a Thai man in a grey, stripped leisure shirt walks to the direction of Rock and Revy. Neither of the two notice the man as Revy says "I know the feeling Rock. I just didn't think the same happened with you." She pauses for a second and continues "That fight we had at the China Bowl…" Rock nods and says "The reason why I was uncomfortable with the grave robbing was because my grandparents used to be morticians. Death is a very taboo thing where I was raised. Robbing a grave would be as disgusting as robbing the blind and elderly, maybe even more so."

Revy thinks to herself for a moment and asks "During that fight, where did you calling me a coward come from? That seemed a bit out of left-field." Rock smirks again, shooting his pained smirk, and says "I have suffered, but I am not a victim. I don't want pity, I don't want an apology, and I don't want to be treated like some prostitute on the street. I don't want help, I just wanted to say what I wanted to say. Revy…you are the first person that I ever willingly told that I am half Buraku. I never even dared to speak that word with my parents, with my brother, with anyone but my grandfather, Daisuke Okajima. Cause I know that you would understand what I felt. I think you do. I'm not a victim Revy…I am survivor. They don't want me…well guess what? THEY DON'T NEED TO HAVE ME!"

The Thai man that is walking on the street passes by Rock and Revy and says "Shut up, you fucking addict." Revy prepares to flip the man off and shout a few obscenities. As she removes her arm out of her tracksuit pocket, Rock tackles the pedestrian to the ground. Still high off of crystal meth, Rock turns the pedestrian onto his back and whales on him with his right fist. The first punch strikes the man in his left eye and disorientates him. The second punch strikes the man in the jaw. Blood begins to flow from the man's mouth, splattering on Rock's fist and shirt. Revy simply stands in shock, her legs frozen as she watches Rock in the process of beating a man to death. After what sounded like eight brutal strikes, the meth acting as an anesthetic for his bruised fist, Rock reaches behind his Hawaiian shirt for his M9. Revy suddenly feels the ability to move again. Rock, meanwhile, bites down on the back of the slide and pulls the slide back with his teeth. Revy quickly grabs Rock and tries to pull him away as he aims his M9 at the semi-conscious pulp of meat in front of him.

Rock pulls the trigger, missing the man's head by a couple of inches. The man, terrified, beaten, his face bleeding as blood streaks out of the corner of his mouth, spits out a tooth and runs away, staggering as he runs.

"ROCK! You okay Rock? Put the piece away, calm down. Shit is done, alright? The guy ain't going to fuck with you. Now let's get back home. You crash on the couch, watch TV, do whatever. I'm going to get some food to eat. You want Chinese, pizza, what you want?" Revy asks, pushing Rock toward the studio. She pats him twice on the back as Rock replies "I'm not hungry. Get me the same thing that you'll order." Revy nods and says "Alright, Rocky boy. Will do that. Just calm down, the crystal's effects should be waning away soon." Rock chuckles and says "Yeah…what a shitty day." Revy chuckles in response and says "No arguments from me."


	8. Broke and Bedlam, and Broken Bad

The living room of the studio residence of the Black Lagoon Company is virtually dark, aside from the glow emitting from a small television. On top of the television, a slightly old VCR sits, playing a VCR cassette. On the couch, Rock watches the television, arching his head back. He is shirtless, revealing his taped chest, and wearing black shorts and sandals. Once in a while, he laughs at the television, which is playing a movie at low volume.

Stepping out of her room, Revy spots Rock on the couch and approaches him. Wearing her usual tight, black tank top and her extremely short jeans, she rubs her forehead and steps to the right of the couch. "Couldn't sleep?" she whispers at Rock. "No, tried but couldn't. At least I am not acting like an idiot anymore," Rock replies, an annoyed look on his face. Revy leans forward on the couch and says "It's four in the morning, so the crystal will completely pass in a couple more hours. Then you'll sleep for 8 hours and then wake up, hungry enough to eat fucking Godzilla." "Like that time you tricked me into smoking marijuana on Basilan Island?" Rock asks back, rolling his eyes. "Heh, kinda," Revy replies, sitting down next to Rock. She looks at the television and spots two Japanese men dressed in lab coats and ties, wearing red helmets with a hose on the top of each helmet that leads to what looks like a fuel tank for a flamethrower. "What the fuck are you watching?" Revy asks.

"'Minnā yatteru ka (Is Everyone Screwing?)!' It's a Japanese film by Takeshi Kitano. A comedy, about a young guy trying to get laid and failing miserably in his attempts. It's one of the last films I watched before I took an overseas job that led me to this fine city," Rock replies as Revy stares at the television. "What are they doing now?" Revy asks, clearly confused by the scene. "Those two are searching for the desperate man. The desperate man has turned invisible and entered a women's bathhouse. The machinery on them is to detect the invisible man," Rock replies as the two men enter the bath house. A woman that is facing slightly toward the camera and away from a man at the register removes a blue shirt, revealing a blue bra. The man behind the counter, wearing a white shirt, exchanges words with the two lab coat wearing men, who suddenly leave. Rock bursts out in laughing. "What did they say?" Revy asks. Still chuckling, Rock says "The man behind the register says that it's a women's bathhouse. The older man in the lab coat, played by Takeshi Kitano himself, says that the two of them are gay so it's alright. The man behind the register told them to beat it." Revy smirks and says "Interesting…"

"I've been told that, when I comb my hair back and cut it somewhat short, I look like a young Takeshi Kitano with a pointy jaw," Rock says, watching the two men knock a female janitor unconscious. "Eh, maybe if he removed his helmet, but I only see a slight resemblance," Revy comments, watching the movie with no clue of the dialogue. Suddenly, the two men in the movie creep into a white hallway flanked with doors. Takeshi Kitano points at a piece of paper written in Japanese script. Rock starts chuckling as Revy asks "What does the sign mean?" "Animal porn filming room…" Rock replies as Revy stares at Rock with a blank, detached facial expression that dissolves into incredulous laughter. In the television, the two men in lab coats peep through the door to the barnyard porno room and spot a Japanese man wearing only white briefs, with a black sign inside the back of his underwear, holding a large camera at a stuffed jaguar mounting a stuffed boar. Rock and Revy both laugh, Rock at the director's dialogue, Revy at the ridiculousness of the situation. The porno director blows a whistle as the two men in lab coats retreat with disgusted looks on their faces. Revy starts laughing again and whispers "Now you do look like Takahashi Kitano or whatever his name is. His reaction is like your face when you look confused."

Rock chuckles a bit and sighs, saying "I want to sleep but I can't. It's making me frustrated." Revy nods silently to herself and asks "How's your hand? You were acting a little bat-shit earlier." Rock stares at his bruised right hand and says "I will be fine. It took a while for the pain to register, must be due to the meth. I apologize for how I was acting." Revy smirks and says "Hey it was nothing. You remember everything you said and did?" Rock sighs and slowly replies, embarrassed "…unfortunately. Heh." Revy pauses for a second and says "You laid on a lot of shit on me. A lot that I had no idea about. You okay with that?" Rock nods and says "I don't know what was worse. When your close friends do speak about the Buraku people and how they despise them for no reason at all, which was rare, or when they pretend that the Buraku don't even exist, which was very common. It was a lot of anger built up in me, maybe still is, but I have been bottling it. Most of the time, the bottling works. It's something that I grew accustomed to before. And now it doesn't even matter, being that I live in Roanapur anyway."

Pausing for a few seconds, Rock continues "You know what's funny? I'm watching this movie so I don't lose my Japanese language. I keep practicing it with myself, useful to be multilingual."

"How many languages you know?" Revy asks. "I'm fluent in English, Japanese, and Russian. I used to be fluent in Spanish but it went down the toilet when I stopped using it. I practice my Russian, and now my Japanese, to not let that happen again. I can still hold a basic conversation in Spanish, and I know a few words and phrases in Romanian, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese, but that's it," Rock concludes, stretching his arms. Revy laughs and says "That's it? Smartass. Through I know English and Spanish fluently. And a little Thai. My reading in English got a lot better now, but I can barely read in Spanish. I keep practicing my Spanish so I don't forget it." "You picked it up in Mexico, right?" Rock asks. "Yeah, it's a bit different then the Spanish you'd get in Spain," Revy replies.

The two continue to watch the movie, with Rock translating scenes for Revy as they go along. As the film finishes, Rock turns off the television and says "When we last talked about it, you stopped your story at Pittsburgh, running from the police in New York. What happened in Pittsburgh?"

Revy arcs her head back, entering a state of deep thought and reminiscence. After a while of recalling all the details, she says "I got dropped off in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, right nearby that tall building and the University of Pittsburgh. From there, I stumbled around the place, completely fucking lost, until I crossed the Allegheny River to the northern side of Pittsburgh. I kept walking around until I decided to use a pay phone to call Jimmy Flaherty. I had his number written down on paper and kept on my person, and I just remembered it when I crossed over to the North Side. I called him once, no reply. Tried again a second time, and this time he picked up. Was about to tell him what happened but he cut me off, saying that Lou Bats told him everything and that he is going to cut my ties with me. That would have fucking pissed me off to no end, had he not also told me about a friend in Pittsburgh that could have used some work. He pointed me to this guy in the East Allegheny neighborhood, some guy named Desmond Root. I went over to Root's place, he was this balding guy with a horseshoe shaped moustache. I named dropped Jimmy Flaherty, and then the topic shifted to certain places, about what I did for him and Lou Bats. Root then called Flaherty and said that he is going to give me a job if Flaherty forgets about a favor that Root owes him. Either Flaherty said yes, or Root gave me a job anyway. Plus a place to stay…he emptied out his basement for me and gave me a spare mattress and pillow to sleep on."

"Who was this Mr. Root working for?" Rock inquires, curious. "The Pittsburgh Italian mafia. I don't remember what the family was called. I once saw a group of them with Desmond Root in his house, though they didn't see me. It sounded like there weren't that many in mob to begin with. Root once commented that he could count every made member and associate using his fingers and toes, including himself, being an associate. Root himself was involved in selling coke with some made guy that I never met or even knew by name. That's what I pretty much was doing for pay and housing," Revy replies, scratching the back of her head.

"So you were selling drugs on the street?" Rock inquires further. Revy laughs and says "Ha, when you have less than two dozen people working for you, you don't have enough people to push drugs on the corner. Nah, I was actually delivering the cocaine to this street gang in Northview Heights…they weren't with the Bloods or Crips, they had their own name that I forgot. They owned a street of public housing and made crack cocaine in the apartments. I hand them the snow, they hand me the money. Root knew that I could take care of myself and that I wasn't with the law, though he didn't want other people in organization to know that a teenage Chinese girl was helping with coke deals."

"Interesting, so that was your main source of income in Pittsburgh?" Rock asks, rubbing the bandage on his nose. "Heh, pretty much so. Pay was alright for the risk, and I can't complain about a real roof over my head for once. The guy that I sold the coke to in Northview was this man named Terrance 'Terry' Melson, who led his local street gang in his piece of Northview. Was a bit surprised when I met him, the guy seemed like a decent person born in the wrong place. Was a bit short, skinny, but could talk a crowd. Always dressed like he just came from church, like Carlton from the Fresh Prince. Kept talking about saving money, building a pile, so he could escape the projects. He was 20 years old, but looked like he was 40 with the look on his face. Like he was just tired, just completely fucking tired, and just forcing himself to go along. People like that tend to stick in your memory, no matter how little you see of them," Revy replies, swimming through the murky waters of her past.

"I see, Revy. Interesting," Rock replies, trying to close his eyes, to fall asleep. His attempts fail miserably. After a while of sitting in the darkness, he blurts out "At least we won't have to deal with Tinsul anymore." Revy sighs and says "Oh don't be so sure about that. Last time I dealt with Tinsul, it was a smuggling job for his gang. That's when he first met me, and Benny and Dutch as well. He was a faggot ass cunt back then too. He even hired us for another 'job' which was some stupid attempt to fuck me. I busted his nose open and Dutch, Benny, and I left his place, telling him to never contact Black Lagoon Company again. He called a couple more times, and when Dutch threatened to cash in on some of the favors that Balalaika owes him, that made Tinsul fuck off. Now, he will probably have Takahashi hire the two of us, and since Takahashi is paying the $1,000 to Dutch and we are being 'outsourced', Dutch will probably make us go along with the job anyway. Economy is shitty right now and you don't turn down a 'free' grand. Tinsul will probably demand that Takahashi uses us to send him drugs instead of whatever Hawaiian fuck Takahashi normally would send as couriers. Course…that also depends on Takahashi hiring us after what happened earlier today, or was it yesterday…yeah yesterday. Might even get a chance to get even with both of those fucks, and get the money that's owed to us."

Rock thinks to himself with a puzzled look on his face, a look that slowly dissolves into a fox-like smile. "I didn't know that…that could be useful to know. Interesting…" Rock comments, smirking to himself. "You're doing it again…planning…" Revy replies, slouching on the couch. "That's what I do Revy…no…that's what we do. 'WE' plan. 'WE' shoot. 'WE' find a way out of this problem. I have some ideas, and I'm sure you have some as well, but I think there's a way out of this. It's tough though. Feels like bottom of the sixth, with 1 out and runners on 1st and 3rd, and you are on the mound after giving up a walk on a 3-2 count. A pop up to shallow or a ground ball to the short stop would be good enough, but what you really need is some teamwork and luck to get the double play. We'll see…Revy," Rock concludes, almost amused with himself and his improvised speech.

"Thinking about some baseball game you watched?" Revy asks, yawning. "Played…back in high school. Though in that case, I was the guy on 1st base that just got walked," Rock answers. "How'd that resolve itself?" Revy asks further. Rock laughs and says "The next guy at bat hit a fly out to the short stop. The guy after that hit a ball to deep center. It landed fair and the guy on 3rd scored, giving my school the tie. I was one of the faster base runners, and so I tried to score from first. I took some extra time to step of 2nd base to be on the safe side, so I wouldn't miss it, bad move. I was like…four steps past 3rd base when the catcher caught the ball and waited for me to get tagged out." "Did you knock the ball out of the catcher and score?" Revy asks. "You can't do that in high school, Revy. No, I tried jumping over the catcher. He tagged me immediately, and I fell face first on the dirt. We lost the game by a run, and I was the joke of the week in high school. I didn't tackle him, because I would have been suspended for it," Rock answers, to which Revy laughs. Rock smiles and shakes his head as Revy finishes laughing.

The two sit in silence for a few minutes, until Rock breaks the silence by saying "Earlier, I mentioned how I felt after that helicopter situation when we first met." Revy looks up and says "Yeah?" Rock continues "I mentioned that rush I felt, watching that helicopter burst into flames and sink into the water…Do you feel the same way during fights…shootouts, the usual?" "Yep," Revy replies without hesitating. "What is that?" Rock asks. Revy pauses for a second, and then says "It's a type of high. Some people get high off of doing crazy stuff, like getting into shootouts, robberies, fist fights, anything that get's adrenaline pumping. Dutch told me stuff about Vietnam vets that had a shitty time adjusting because they were constantly feeling adrenaline in wartime and not anymore afterwards. Almost like a withdrawal period. I get the same feelings in fights, most of the time. Sometimes I get feelings of paranoia or anxiety during fights, but mostly I'm feeling the adrenaline high. Yeah…it's a bit like meth."

"Are you saying that we have PTSD?" Rock asks, feeling confused. Revy shakes her head and says "I asked Dutch about this a long time ago, like you asked me. He kept saying how it is lumped with PTSD, but he thinks that it's bullshit, and just a case of getting high off of adrenaline." "So, me looking back to that with warm feelings was just me getting high off adrenaline?" Rock asks. Revy smirks and says "Well, the getting high part is somewhat common with everyone, but the looking back part with warm feelings…if this is for some other questions you may have…the looking back part is something that not as many people feel. Like, if you were a soldier in a war, and you killed people and got in shootouts, and you came back home and feel empty without having bullets whiz over your head…that's one thing. But when you get the warm feelings from fucking someone's day up for good, like those mercs in the chopper, then that's what shrinks would call 'sociopathy'. Again, I don't really care for therapy shit and all that."

Rock cups his hands and slouched forward, looking at the ground. He stares at the ground with a blank face and says "So it's like that…I see." "You alright there?" Revy asks, looking at Rock. Rock slouches back, digging his body into the sofa. He simply smiles to himself, not answering.

The two return to silence, entering their own state of thought, digging into the sofa. Both of them try to fall asleep, trying to close their eyes. Both of them fail miserably.

10 minutes of silence later, Rock nudges an inch toward Revy and lets his left shoulder touch her right shoulder. Neither of them says anything, both of them smirking at each other. Rock lets his left arm slide up Revy's right arm, brushing his skin against hers. He brings his left arm up to her neck and rests it on her shoulder. Revy turns her head around and stares at both Benny's room and Dutch's room. Turning back to Rock, she whispers, smirking "I ain't stopping you."

Rock grasps onto the right strap of her black tank-top and quickly pulls it down. Revy pulls her right arm out of the strap and digs deeper into the couch. She bites her lip as Rock slides his arm into her tank-top, touching her right breast. Revy closes her eyes as Rock fondles her breast, and then slides his head onto it. He smells her skin, smelling of sweat. Her breathing becomes more labored as her breast makes contact with Rock's mouth. She runs her right hand through Rock's hair as she tries to hush her increasingly loud breaths.

Revy places her left hand on Rock's taped chest, almost grasping onto the tape. Her breathing becomes steadier, labored but consistent, as Rock slides his head from her breast and onto her stomach, his lips stroking her skin. He slides his mouth all the way down to her shorts, pulling his head up as he reaches for the top button with his right hand. Revy heaves a sigh and smirks, whispering "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Rock looks up and whispers "Why? Wait…oh, I see." He slides back to his original position on the couch and looks up, whispering "Well that shot the moment down." "Probably not a good idea anyway, with Benny or Dutch here, or I think they are here. I haven't seen Benny lately," Revy whispers back, pulling her right strap back on. "There's always our room…though never mind it anyway. I think the meth is messing with me in places besides my brain," Rock annoyingly sighs, looking down. "Yeah, I heard meth can do that to men," Revy whispers back, looking at the exit with a blank face "By the way, you haven't shaved for a while." "I know, I'm getting around to it," Rock replies, feeling the rough, black stubble on his chin. "It's your call," Revy replies back, stretching her neck. "I know," Rock calmly replies, trying to close his eyes.

"I know a poker game we can go to kill some time," Revy adds, eyes glued to the exit. "Heh, haven't we spent the entire day gambling?" Rock asks, brushing his right hand against his taped chest. "That was work, this is for fun. Low stakes game, everyone joins with between $100 and $400. You can cash out between hands, and the house uses a pot rake of 10%. Wanna go?" Revy asks, as Rock thinks to himself. He heads for his room, not answering, and then returns. Leaving his room, he puts on a black shirt that says in Thai crimson red lettering that are placed vertically in the middle "Jai Yen Yen (Take it easy)." Revy muffles her laughter and whispers "Where the fuck you got that shirt? From some tourist gift shop?" "Heh, yea actually," Rock replies, switching one pair of sandals for another, brown pair. He checks his pockets in his shorts for his phone and wallet, and then grabs his M9, which was resting on a table, and holsters it under the back of his shirt. Feeling content with himself, he says "Alright, let's head out."

The two exit their studio, with Revy locking the front door. Both of them pull out a cigarette as Revy retrieves her lighter. She lights her cigarette and then Rock's, the two burning points serving as a faint light source in a mostly dark section of Roanapur.

"It's a few streets away. Gustavo runs the place, a bit of side money for him. You know, Gustavo of the Colombians? The guy we met back when Fabiola showed? He and Black Lagoon have good relations, and he's a friend a mine," Revy blurts out, taking a drag of her cigarette. "How many friends do you have here?" Rock casually asks. "You trying to make me teary eyed, Rocky boy? Takes a lot more than that," Revy smirks and replies back. "No Revy, you know what I mean," Rock retorts, knocking some ash off of his cigarette. Revy sighs to herself and says "Dutch, Benny…you of course. Gustavo, Kaeo…kinda, Quan from the fight club, Emilio until Hotel Moscow shot him…and Eda until that shit went to shit." She looks more stern as she pauses for a while, saying "Though honestly, and don't tell this to anyone, you're the only one I actually trust. I don't normally admit stuff like that…fuck." "Are you okay, Revy?" Rock asks, walking closer to her.

Revy turns around, mildly upset. She replies with a heightened voice "I've been shooting and drinking and fighting all of my life. I have fucking trouble connecting to people. Rock, I've been fucking lonely my entire life! Yeah, not something I normally admit, but it's fucking true. I don't feel lonely with you, it's strange, fuck…you're interesting, Rock, even when you're full of shit." "I know how that feels," Rock somberly replies. Revy smirks and says "What, you feeling the same, or you thinking I'm full of shit at times?" Rock drags on his cigarette, not responding, suppressing a smirk. "Ah fuck you, Rock!" Revy yells out, laughing to herself. Rock pauses in his steps and replies "But yes, what you say goes the same for me." A slightly pained, solemn, almost demented smile crosses her lips as Revy looks down to her shoes. "From all the stuff you told me before, I had a feeling you understand that," Revy adds, her voice become solemn and thoughtful.

She continues "When I first met Terrance Melson, or Terry as I sometimes called him, it was a simple business exchange, I hand over the goods, you give me the cash, that type of setup. Every week, same thing, occasionally we would have small talk. I wasn't very good at it. I was able to handle myself, but I was still too young to know much about anything to have a conversation. I felt stupid, and angry, and I hated that feeling of loneliness. Terry wasn't any better when I got to know him. He knew how to control people that work for him, how to push a teenager to stand on a street corner in the middle of the fucking winter, making him sell crack for money. Besides that, he was in the same boat. He could read and write somewhat, and he helped me with that a bit. Not exactly elementary English class but it was okay enough." Revy licks her dried lips and heaves a sigh, continuing "After a couple of weeks of just doing deals, he would invite me to his mom's house in East Hills, which was on the other side of the city. It wasn't that bad, he had a TV, and his mom would cook me mac and cheese, rice, and pork. It was the first time I was being with another person just for the hell of it. No work, no running from the police, just doing stuff cause it's there. We would watch football, first time I ever watched television. The first game I watched was this one between the Bears and the Packers, back in 1986. I watched Charles Martin grab Jim McMahon after the ball was thrown, and I watched him slam him onto the ground. I thought it was the most awesome thing I have ever seen in my life. When I saw the replay, my mind started hoping that his neck would snap, just because of how entertaining it was. What actually happened was that Jim McMahon ended up out for the season. Seriously, this was a guy that accidently stabbed himself in the eye with a fork when he was a little kid, and I was hoping that he would break his neck just because it would be entertaining. Looking back, I think that was when I first realized how fucked up I am, heh."

"I saw you wearing a football jersey before. You keep talking with Dutch about playoffs but I don't exactly follow. I don't really watch American football. You said you are a…Boars fan?" Rock asks, unfazed by Revy's fond thoughts of a random athlete almost becoming a paraplegic. Revy slams the palm of her hand onto her forehead and almost cries in laughter. "BRONCOS you dumbass! Who the fuck would call a professional sports team 'The Boars'. I became a fan of them in Mexico, when they were showing Chargers/Broncos games. I also like the Eagles, became a fan of them in Pittsburgh just to piss off Root and Terry, and also because I think Bill Romanowski is fucking awesome. He's on the Broncos right now, though the jersey I got is when he was with Philly. Broncos are facing Jacksonville on the 27th, wildcard round, and I don't give a shit what Dutch says about work, cause I'm fucking watching it. Might also get an Atwater jersey too. Fucking hard to get anything like that, legit, in Thailand though."

"I might just watch the game with you. Something new, never really watched an American football game for more than a few minutes," Rock replies, knocking more ash off of his cigarette, as the two cross an intersection. "Heh, sure Rock," Revy mutters, taking in a rare breeze that's blowing through the streets. "What happened with you and this Terrance?" Rock asks, curious. Revy grows silent for a few seconds, and then answers "One day, there was a problem with money, where Terrance was short on cash for the coke I was selling. He said that he would give Root the money he was short on, like a few hundred dollars worth, and I had no way to call Root so I just said okay with it. When I met with Root and told him what happened, he smacked me across the face and called me an idiot for letting a 'smackhead get away with a few hundred dollars'. He grabbed a baseball bat, took me along to Terrance, and smashed the shit out of his ribs. He then made me kick Terrance a few times and told me to never let loaned money go by unless you know you could collect on interest. He left and I just looked at Terrance, groaning in pain on the ground. I felt something, but I was not sure what it was…"

Rock pauses for a second and then says "You felt guilty that he might no longer take you to his house and let you watch football, and not because he was your friend and was rolling around in pain." Revy looks at Rock with a sense of disbelief and says "…yeah, how do you know?" Rock heaves a sigh and takes a drag of his cigarette, saying "I ain't that emotionally healthy either, Revy. Hn…" Revy stares at Rock and says nothing for a while. After walking a few meters, Rock asks "What happened to Terrance after the beating?" Revy tosses her cigarette onto the road and says "I didn't meet with him to watch football that week. Then next week came along. Root told me to pick up the money that Terry owes and that I wouldn't be selling anymore drugs. When I came to pick up the money, I met Terrance in an alleyway that we usually meet up for the exchange. He was high, off of heroin I think, and he tried to rape me. Or maybe not, I don't know. I think that's what he tried to do. He jumped on top of me and just stared at me, high out of his mind. I reacted quickly and shot him twice in the chest. He rolled over onto his back and just looked at me, silent except for wincing at the bullet wounds. He just looked at me, kept looking at me, and then he slumped and died. I didn't know what to do, I felt sick, angry, I DIDN'T WANT TO SHOOT HIM! FUCK! Whatever happened was done, and I just ran back to Root's place, gave him some of my money to cover the debt that Terry owed, just slipped the money under that encyclopedia that Root loved to read. I then grabbed my shit and ran out, jumped on another shady van, and escaped to Louisville, Kentucky. Was back to square one basically. No home, just the money in my pockets, and the clothes I was wearing, and not jack-shit more. I wish I hadn't shot him. I liked Terry, it wasn't like you and me, but he was a friend, and I didn't feel as lonely. It became hard after that, actually talking with someone and trusting them with shit."

"I didn't have the ideal time growing up either, Revy," Rock mutters, grimacing to himself. "What? Your momma grounded you for getting a B on your homework?" Revy blurts out, rolling her eyes. She turns around to see Rock frozen in his tracks, swollen with rage, breathing heavily, almost as if he is going to have a heart attack. "You okay there Rock? Rock? ROCK!" Revy yells as Rock calms himself down, letting his cigarette fall out of his mouth. "I'm okay Revy, just…bad thoughts coming back. From back home. They are buried now, again. Sorry for making you worry," Rock mumbles, rubbing his forehead. Revy places her right arm on his back and says "What the fuck happened with you?" "I rather not talk about it. I trust you, more than anyone, but there are certain things that you keep to yourself, things that you rather not think about it," Rock solemnly says. "Take it easy, Rock. I know what you mean," Revy replies, staring at Rock, at the bandage on his nose. "I know that you know. Maybe I will tell you sometime, but not now. I rather not think about it, in general," Rock replies back, speaking in vague terms. "You sure you want to go play poker?" Revy asks, looking concerned. "Yeah, now even more. Want to get some things off of my mind," Rock answers, giving a weak smile.

"Alright…Rock. Alright," Revy mutters, sounding concerned. The two cross another intersection as Revy calls out "See that mini mart? 'Pattaya Smokes and Drinks'? We're heading around the back." Rock and Revy stare at the closed mini mart before them, the interior completely dark aside from the glow from the refrigerator units. The two walk into an alleyway to the right of the mart, passing a large dumpster. A Thai drug addict in ragged clothes sits on a black garbage bag, twirling a switchblade in his hands. The drug addict, sporting a ragged beard and baggy eyes, smiles and stands up, half of his teeth either missing or rotting. Revy pulls one of her Cutlasses from her shoulder holster and Rock pulls out his M9 from under his shirt, both staring at the addict. The addict stares at the metal in their hands and runs out onto the street. Revy and Rock holster their weapons as Revy walks to the back of the mart.

A small dumpster sits next to a chain link fence that blocks off the other side of the alleyway. Next to the dumpster, a back door sits concealed in the darkness. Revy knocks once, pauses, and then knocks two more times. The door slides partially open, a small chain connecting to the door, as a Ruger P90 extends out the door. A man peers through the door, revealed to be Gustavo.

"Oye, qué onda? (hey, what's up?) Están llegan aqui para las cartas? (You all came here for the cards?)" Gustavo asks, eyes fixated on Revy. "Pues, no hemos venido aqui para tus cervezas de meadas, haha (well, we didn't come here for your piss beers)," Revy replies, laughing to herself. "Me insultas, Revy (you insult me, Revy). De todos modos, dame los cohetes. Reglas de la casa. (At any rate, give me the guns. House rules)," Gustavo commands, extending his left hand through the space between the door and the doorframe. Revy hands over one of her Cutlasses, which Gustavo puts away, and then hands him over her second Cutlass. Satisfied, Gustavo opens the door and lets the two inside. "Hey Gustavo, you forgot me," Rock says, handing Gustavo his M9. Gustavo, dressed in a dark blue buttoned shirt with tiny multi-colored squares along the buttons and cuffs of the shirt, beige shorts, and sandals, stares at Rock with a perplexed look on his face.

"You too? Since fucking when? Jesús, María, y José, I have seen it all!" Gustavo exclaims, crossing himself while holding Rock's M9. He sets Rock's M9 down on a desk, next to Revy's Cutlasses, holsters his Ruger, and lifts up the golden cross around his neck, kissing the cross. "Nadie me creerá (no one will believe me)," Gustavo mutters to himself as Rock and Revy walk through a dark storage room and enter a brightly lit back room.

"Rock, Revy! What a surprise!" Benny yells out, sipping a bottle of Corona Extra as the rest of the table looks up in acknowledgement. Adeyemi sits to the right of Benny, and Samuel to the right of Adeyemi, Adeyemi wearing a green shirt with torn cuffs, Samuel wearing a pink buttoned shirt. To the right of Samuel is a Thai man with long black hair tied into a ponytail, a faint moustache, and faint chin stubble, wearing an orange and red psychedelic patterned buttoned shirt and a brass chain. The Thai man says "Hey Rock, where hell did you come? Jai yen yen? Ha, you got shirt from airport?" Revy stares at the Thai man and asks Rock "Who the fuck is this guy?" "He's a friend that I met here in Roanapur. Works as a cook at the Hút Thuốc Thầy Tu (Smoking Monk), a Vietnamese favorite of mine. He's saving up money to open up a convenience store like this one. His name is Suphawut. Suphawut, meet Revy. Revy, Suphawut," Rock speaks out, as Revy and Suphawut nod at each, silently greeting each other.

"Sit down, we are taking a break. Watching some comedy," Benny comments, pointing with his beer at a TV wedged in a corner of the room. Behind Adeyemi and Samuel, a drawer sits against the wall, holding an ashtray and a cigar case on top. To the left of the drawer, a closed, grey, domestic fridge sits wedged in an adjacent corner relative to the TV. Right above the cigar case, hanging on the wall, a picture of Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Sr. decorates the room. Rock takes a seat by the table, his back to the storage room, next to Benny. Revy sits next to Rock, her back facing the TV. "Tienen sed? Tengo algunas cervezas (you all thirsty? I have some beers)…Corona, Dos Equis, Tecate, Pacífico, Negra Modelo. Want?" Gustavo inquires, sitting himself on top of the drawer. "Two Modelos, thanks," Revy replies, turning toward Rock "Trust me Rock, it's probably the only beer in that fridge that doesn't taste like sewage runoff. Well, Dos Equis is passable."

Gustavo opens the fridge and retrieves two bottles from the bottom. He tosses a bottle of Negra Modelo at Revy and another one at Rock, saying "C'mon, first you put a gun to my head, then you insult my Tecate," Gustavo calls back, waving off at Revy. "Hey, I put that gun to your head to save your skin, Gustavo. Fabiola tore apart your entire crew, and the whole bar was coming down, shit went sideways fast," Revy retorts, eying Gustavo nervously. "Lo sé, lo sé (I know, I know)," Gustavo apathetically replies. "I lived in Zacatecas and Durango for a year each, and Mazatlán for four years. For me, they all taste the same," Benny blurts out, finishing his Corona. "Ha, mi papa siempre bebe Tecate. Mis dos hermanos mayores siempre beben Tecate. Mi hermana mayor siempre bebe Tecate. Claro bebo Tecate (Ha, my dad always drinks Tecate. My two older brothers always drink Tecate. My older sister always drinks Tecate. Course I drink Tecate). Heh, I remember my dad buying up cans of the stuff back in San Diego," Gustavo replies, fishing into his cigar case. He pulls out an Arturo Fuente cigar and lights it with a lighter. "You're from America?" Benny yells out, surprised. "Yeah, Chicano, born and raised in Southeast San Diego. Though, most of the family came back to Los Mochis when I was thirteen, me included. My older sister…married into this life, and a few things here and there, and I got myself a nice job," Gustavo replies, taking a drag of his cigar.

"You're Mexican? How tall are you? You must be the tallest Mexican I ever met. And a Chicano too? Holy shit!" Benny blurts out, looking shocked. Gustavo chuckles and says "I get that a lot. Either it's the German in me, or I got some tall fucking Yaqui ancestors." "If you're from Mexico, how did you get to working for the Colombians?" Rock asks out, stretching his right arm behind his neck. Gustavo eyes Rock, sizing him up, and smirks, saying "I take care of the logística (logistics). The cartel I work for in Mexico and the one in Colombia work together, everyone knows that. They send me to work for Colombia, and I help with the business between Colombia and Thailand. Órale vato (alright man), that's all you need to know."

"I…see," Rock mutters as the entire room eases from the brief moment of suffocating tension. Rock rolls his beer around on the circular table. He tears off the gold foil on the top and stares at the cap of his bottle of Negra Modelo and gestures the bottle at Benny. "The bottle opener is on the floor, next to your feet, Rock," Benny tips Rock off. Rock nods in thanks and retrieves the bottle opener from the ground, noticing a few bottle caps lying next to it. He opens his bottle of beer and hands the opener to Revy, who does the same for her bottle.

"What you think?" Revy asks, taking a sip of her beer. "Tastes sweet, some caramel, not bad," Rock replies, taking a long gulp of his beer, wetting his dried throat. He turns toward Samuel and Adeyemi and says "We have the money for the repairs. Here's $800 from me, and another $800 from Revy. Revy, you can pay me back later." Rock pulls out a $2,000 stack of $20 bills and slowly separates $1,600 from the stack. "Whoa, carrying around 2 grand on your person. Ballsy move, Rock," Benny comments, smirking to himself. "I just got paid a few hours ago, Benny. I am not that much of an aho," Rock replies to Benny. "What's an aho?" Suphawut blurts out, his left eyebrow raised. "It's Japanese for idiot," Rock answers. "I thought baka meant idiot in Japanese," Benny interjects. "It does too, synonyms Benny. Wake up," Rock replies to Benny. "Wake up? It's fucking five in morning, we should be fucking sleeping," Suphawut jokes, chuckling to himself. Everyone sports a faint smirk as Adeyemi says "Tanks for dis tin here. Samuel, wan take half for next hand?"

"NO! We are not gambling our revenue money away, Adeyemi! Nex time I will lock you in trunk, you can play Go Fish with dem tire pressue pump," Samuel yells out, grabbing the $1,600 from the table and pocketing it. He looks at Rock and says "Thank you." "Órale, what about my rake?" Gustavo yells out, extending his arms. "Haha, very funny Gus," Samuel nervously chuckles to himself and slouches in his seat.

"Hey Revy, move over a piece. We watching these Spanish guys," Suphawut blurts out in broken English. "It's 'move over a bit', Suphawut," Revy replies, picking her chair up and moving it a few spots closer to Rock. "Thanks. I trying. Learning second language is hard," Suphawut replies back, scratching the back of his neck. "Trust me, your English is much better than that cocksucker Songxie," Revy speaks back, looking at a paused tape on the TV.

"Hablando sobre el compañero de negocios de Takahashi (Talking about Takahashi's business partner)?" Gustavo inquires, looking interested. "Yeah, the faggot smashed our car because he accused Rock of fucking up his shit-mobile back in Papua New Guinea. And because we, unknowingly, parked on the asshole's parking space. Fuck him!" Revy answers, taking a swig of her beer. "Interesante…" Gustavo mutters, smirking to himself. He pauses in thought for a second and then asks "Trabajaste con Takahashi, verdad (You worked with Takahashi, right)?" "Aye, mira (look), that fucking four eyes ripped us off for 2 grand over 'technicalities', so I don't fucking care. Asshole ain't good for business until he wedges that dildo out of his cunt," Revy answers, to which everyone starts laughing.

"Them's fighting words, Revy," Benny mutters, laughing to himself. Revy smirks and says "Hey, I have it on good authority that a certain Benjamin Rubin once approached a man named Batshit Adeyemi over a hula dancer figure that was glued to his ass." "You fucking told them? Shit Adeyemi, the reason it was there was because you glued that figure on my ass!" Benny yells out, angry. "Whoa, whoa, shit got interesting!" Revy comments, eyes glued to the scene before her. Benny calms himself down, stares down a bemused Adeyemi, and says "The two of us were chewing khat, and I had a lot to drink. I passed out for a bit, and then woke up to hear this idiot say that he just claimed the moon for the Nigerian government! Removing the figure left a hole in my pants. I liked those pants!" Samuel chokes on his saliva and bursts out laughing "What the fuck? Dat's a new one!"

"Mira, can we finish the show? Carajo (damnit)!" Gustavo curses, looking annoyed. He reaches for a remote on the fridge and resumes the tape. It is a video of a 1994 comedy show that's including Paul Rodriguez. On the TV, Paul Rodriguez, a Mexican comedian, comes out in a sky blue and white checked shirt, black undershirt, black pants, and black shoes, sporting a gold chain and a white baseball cap.

" _Que pasa? That means what's happening for all of you who are Spanish-impaired. That's not the political correct thing no more. Now you're 'Spanishly-challenged,"_  the TV says, as Rock, Revy, Suphawut, and Gustavo chuckle.

" _I'm sick and tired of all this political correctness bullshit eh, use 'euphemisms'. Right?"_  the TV continues to play as Revy raises her beer and shouts out "FUCKING AMEN TO THAT!"

" _You know everybody's talkin' about the Menendez but uh, I feel I got the right here. I'm pissed off. It's 1994, and the only Latinos on television, consistently, are the Menendez! What the hell is this? We gotta shoot our momma to get on your television set? You know, I can't conceive of any reason that I would shoot my parents. Course, they ain't got no forty million dollars,"_ Rock and Revy mutter an uncomfortable, half-assed laugh as the rest of the table snickers to themselves.

" _You know, everybody's talkin' about the Bobbitts, but AGAIN! She's a Latina, I know that. Latina women WILL sever your penis!"_ Gustavo falls off the drawer laughing hysterically, saying "Mi hermano Benito, almost! Pinche puta (fucking bitch)!"

" _White women just make you feel like you ain't got one, psychologically torture your ass,"_ everyone else at the table bursts out in laughter.

" _First of all, I believe that any man, who rapes a woman, should have his penis severed! Lop it off, baby,"_  Revy and Rock laugh uncomfortably. Benny smirks and asks Gustavo for another Corona.

" _The-the story just writes itself. You don't need a comic, you can make-the jokes are there for ya. You know, she takes it off, she throws it in an empty lot across from a 7-11. They report it to the police. 'Could you describe it?' 'Yea, it was white.' 'Well shit, it's going to be hard to find',"_ Paul Rodriguez continues his pre-recorded routine as Benny opens another bottle of Corona and the rest of the table chuckles in laughter.

" _John Wayne Bobbitt should just be grateful they didn't send the canine unit after this object,"_  Benny, Revy, Gustavo, and Rock all fall off their chairs in laughter as Suphawut, Samuel, and Adeyemi laugh in their seats.

" _And seriously! You get your penis severed, here's a 1 in a million opportunity, to have something better attached! I'd be phoning the morgue…in Compton,"_ Benny, Revy, and Gustavo laugh and look at Adeyemi and Samuel, as Adeyemi and Samuel look confused.

Benny and Gustavo chuckle, their throats becoming dry. Benny takes a sip of Corona as Gustavo reaches into the fridge for a bottle of Tecate.

" _Viva La Raza! We are here, and anybody who calls us a minority, you're ignorant. We are having 3 times as more kids as you are! That's why I gotta get off stage. Goodnight!"_ the comedy video ends as Gustavo pulls out a bottle of Tecate and motions at Benny for the bottle opener. Opening the bottle, Gustavo takes a swig of beer and starts counting with his left hand "Oldest to youngest: Benito, Rodrigo, Valeria, myself, Laura." "You have four siblings? Wow!" Benny blurts out, looking surprised. "Si, Benito was first, then Rodrigo. Then mi padres (my parents) wanted a third child, and mi mamá gave birth to triplets. Valeria was first, then me half a minute later, and Laura shortly after. Large family," Gustavo replies, taking a long gulp of Tecate.

A few minutes of chatter passes and is followed by Gustavo pulling out a deck of cards from under a drawer. Everyone places $400 worth of money by their edge of the table. "No chips, only American baro (cash). $100 to $400 to jump in, you can jump out between hands. No antes, $5 small blind, $10 big blind. I take 10 points off the pot at the end of each hand," Gustavo proclaims as he deals a card face down to each player in a counterclockwise rotation, starting with Suphawut, and then deals a second card to each player in the same order and manner. "Suphawut goes first, Samuel is 'dealer'," Gustavo proclaims as everyone peaks cautiously at their cards. Suphawut tosses a $5 bill, for the small blind, into the center as Rock motions Gustavo over for change for a few twenties. He breaks a few of Rock's $20 bills into tens, a few into fives, and one into singles. He then does the same for Revy. After a while of waiting impatiently, the rest of the table finally sees Rock drop a $10 bill, for the big blind, into the center.

Rock peaks again at his cards. A 10 of diamonds and a 3 of hearts. Suphawut tosses a $5 bill into the center, calling the bet. Rock knocks once on the table, 'checking'. Revy calls the bet and tosses 10 dollars of her own. Benny does the same. Adeyemi follows as well, as Samuel folds his hand and tosses his cards on the table.

Gustavo deals the flop, first card being the Ace of spades, the second being the 4 of diamonds, and third being the Jack of clubs. Suphawut checks, as Rock tosses $20 into the pot. Revy tosses $20 of her own into the pot, calling Rock's bet. Benny, who finishes another Corona, marking the total at 2 beers at least, tosses a $100 bill into the pot. It was at this point that Rock realizes the genius of Gustavo's scheme. He realizes that Gustavo has been wining and accommodating his guests and making them feel happy and drunk, making them feel good and confident. He calculates the price of Corona in his head and realizes that, with Benny's bet of $100, Gustavo covers the cost of at least 3 bottles of Corona, given that he is guaranteed 10 percent of a hundred, or $10, from Benny, at least. Earning $10 for smoking a cigar and watching a poker game. For all his hospitality, he is milking his guests dry. _'The house always wins,'_ Rock thinks to himself, smirking. He notices that Benny, Suphawut, and Samuel all noticed his smirk.

Adeyemi tosses $100 into the pot, calling Benny's bet. Suphawut folds his hand. Rock stares at his cards one more time, thinking of using his smirk to his advantage. Weighing between risking more money for an Ace high straight and cutting his losses, he folds his hand. Revy, on the other hand, tosses $80 into the pot. Adeyemi checks the table.

The pot has grown to $370, meaning that Gustavo has earned $37 for doing absolutely nothing, completely covering the cost of drinks and electricity with plenty of money left for profit. Gustavo deals the turn card, which is the Queen of clubs. Revy checks the table. Benny motions toward his pile of money, and then decides to check the table.

The river card is tossed, revealed to be the King of spades. Revy feigns a look of annoyance and checks the table. Benny bets a raise of $50, tossing it into the pot. "That be fifty, right?" Adeyemi asks, to which Benny silently nods. Adeyemi quickly tosses $50 into pot without hesitation. Revy stares at Adeyemi, trying to decipher as to whether Adeyemi is either a complete idiot or a genius and a philosopher of unheralded proportions. Looking at her cards, which are the Jack of diamonds and the 5 of hearts, she resigns to surrender and folds her hand. Benny grabs a $50 bill from his pile and plays with it in his right hand, thinking to himself. He sets the bill down and looks at his cards, the Ace of diamonds and the 6 of diamonds. After a moment of silence, he checks, tapping the board. Adeyemi quickly taps as well, as Gustavo prepares to take his cut of $47 from the $470 pot.

"One pair, pair of Aces," Benny proclaims, displaying his cards on the table. "ALL BLACK! Check dis out!" Adeyemi proudly proclaims, displaying the Queen of spades and the 4 of spades. Everyone slowly snickers, their snickering turning into full out laughter. "That's…very nice, Adeyemi," Revy sarcastically mutters. Adeyemi stares confused and extends his hands out, looking at Samuel, and then at Gustavo. Benny reaches over to collect the pot when Gustavo calls out "Cagado (funny shit), tarugo (slow idiot) here actually won! Dos pares (two pairs), Queens and 4s."

Suphawut and Revy break out into an "Ohhh!" to add insult to injury as Benny loses to a man that just won a few hundred dollars without realizing what he was doing. Gustavo rakes in $47 from the pot as Adeyemi pockets the rest. Adeyemi then speaks out "I be done here. Dis was fun, goodnight everyone!" Adeyemi pockets his money and gets up from his seat as Samuel follows suit. As Samuel prepares to leave, he looks at Revy and says "Your car be done in four days. Some delays with window shipment. Delivery truck in Ratchaburi got caught in flood." "Ahh fuck! Thanks anyway, see ya," Revy curses as Samuel and Adeyemi make their exit through the back.

"Alright, anyone want to cash out? Make change? Bironga (booze)? No? Oh-kay," Gustavo inquires, shuffling the cards. Suphawut interjects "Hey, speakin' of that man with no penis from TV, that Bobbitt man. I hear he made porno with self." "Qué dijiste (what did you say)?" Gustavo yells out, as Revy snickers to herself and Rock and Benny shake their heads and laugh. Suphawut stares at Gustavo with a look of confusion, saying "If that means 'what the hell?', then yes, it true. I walk past video store, did not go in, honesty, just saw it on display through window. The title: John Wayne Bobbitt, Uncut." "Fuck me! You can't make that shit up!" Revy yells out, as Rock and Revy laugh and Benny looks down on the table, feeling nauseated. "That's just fucking perverse!" Benny exclaims.

Gustavo proceeds to deal the cards around the table again, this time starting with Rock. "Suphawut got 'dealer', Rock got small blind, Revy got big blind," Gustavo exclaims. Rock and Revy drop their respective blinds into the pot as Benny and Suphawut check their cards. Revy inspects her card, and Rock follows suit. He has the 10 of clubs and the 9 of hearts.

Rock tosses a $5 bill into the pot. Revy taps once on the table. Benny throws a $10 bill into the pot, and Suphawut does as well. Gustavo deals the flop. The first card is the King of diamonds, the second is the 6 of spades, the third is the 7 of clubs.

Rock conceals his reaction to the cards, one card away from a 10 high straight. He taps the table, checking. Revy checks as well, as does Benny. Suphawut tosses $40 into the pot. Rock stares at the pair of Jacksons, thinks for a few seconds, and then tosses a pair of his own twenties into the pot. Revy folds her cards, as does Benny.

The turn card is dealt, an 8 of hearts, giving Rock the 10 high straight. At this point, the meth has completely left Rock's system, leaving him absolutely tired. He thunders a loud, genuine yawn and checks the table. Suphawut spots this and raises $200. Rock calmly tosses $200 of his own into the pot.

Gustavo deals the river card, which is the 2 of clubs. Suphawut looks at his cards and calmly throws all of his money into the pot, raising his total bet to $385. Rock stares at the pot and says "I only came into this round with $365 in the bank." Suphawut barely conceals a smirk and says "You could put something else on the table. Like a stereo, or a DVD player, or…" Rock mutters "Excuse me," and gets up from his seat. He walks through the storage room, and approaches the desk with his and Revy's guns. He grabs the M9 and turns back toward the poker game. Gustavo notices the glint of metal and immediately draws his Ruger, yelling "Órale vato! You gone locochón (crazy)? Descuéntate (get lost)!" Revy, Benny, and Suphawut each get out of their chairs and take a step back.

"Easy everyone, here," Rock says, ejecting the ammo clip with bullets out of his M9 and setting both the gun and the clip on the table. He then ejects the bullet in the chamber of the M9 and places it upright on the table. "I raise you this. I bought it a couple of weeks ago for $750…well to be honest, $600 for the gun and $150 for me not being a Thai citizen during a gun purchase, as Suphawut understands. I can call Praiyachat and have him appraise the gun over the phone. That alright with you, Suphawut?" Rock asks, as everyone returns to their seats and Gustavo holsters his Ruger. Suphawut thinks to himself for a bit, and then smirks, saying, "Alright, if I lose, I owe you price of gun minus $20. That alright with you Gustavo?" "Mira, I get my rake first. 10% of the pot, both real and 'appraised'," Gustavo answers as Rock dials Praiyachat on his cell phone.

"Praiyachat? Yes, I know it's 5 in the morning, I apologize for waking you up. It's about the M9 I purchased from your store. No, I didn't lose it. I am just…say…wondering…if I sold it back to you, how much would you give me for it. I fired only…five bullets from it, it's in the same condition as I bought it from you. $600? No, I am just appraising the value. It's for a card game. One second, tell that to a couple of friends of mine," Rock says on the phone. He hand's his cell phone over to Gustavo, who verifies the $600, and then to Suphawut, who also verifies the price. After thanking Praiyachat, Rock hangs up the phone and says "I raise you to $965 total, including the ammunition." Suphawut smirks and says "Alright, I call the bet." Gustavo pulls out a piece of paper and writes down the total pot at $1,930 split between Rock and Suphawut, and $10 from Benny and Revy each, who folded, leaving the pot at $1,950. "I get $195, no matter what," Gustavo proclaims.

Suphawut smirks and lays his cards down, the 4 of clubs and the 5 of hearts. "8 high straight, Rock! Bingo!" Suphawut grins widely, as Rock lays his cards down and wipes the smile off of Suphawut's face. "10 high straight, Suphawut. I win," Rock calmly proclaims, yawning.

Benny's eyes light up as he exclaims "Woah, ho, ho, ho! Rocky Okajima! He came, he saw, he hustled a fry cook!"

Suphawut stares at the pot with a look of a man that has just been stabbed. He starts breathing heavily, panting, pleading "Rock, I don't have money with me. The store I wanted to buy? I bought it, with loan money, but not from bank. The interest is killing me. I just came here to celebrate the purchase. This $385? Take, you win. It hurt yes, but you win it. I cannot handle more debt Rock, please!"

"You should not be gambling Suphawut, not when you have payments to make…" Rock mutters, looking at Revy for advice. Not getting any from a confused Revy, Rock shrugs. He turns back to Suphawut, who is appearing to panic, and says "As a friendly gesture, I will let the entirety of Gustavo's rake come out of your principle. 580 minus 195 equals $385. You owe me $385." Suphawut blinks once at Rock and asks "And interest?" Rock stares at Suphawut for a few seconds, and then turns to Revy again, seeking advice silently. Revy glares at Rock, suggesting that he not go easy on Suphawut. Rock yawns again and turns to Suphawut, saying "I will come back to you next month. I expect $385, plus 20% interest, which amounts to $77, for a total of $463."

"Fuck! Rock, I made stupid mistake. I know, I idiot. I just lost a month of pay in a card game. I cannot handle $460 in a month! Please, Rock, PLEASE!" Suphawut begs, almost ready to cry. Rock grabs the lone bullet on the table and places it in the ammo clip. He sighs and says "You would have taken my gun if I lost." "But you can take loss! I can't! Please Rock, jai yen (be easy), like the shirt. We friends Rock…Rock…ROCK please I CANNOT! I have trouble paying other lenders! They will hurt me if I can't! Please…pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase! ROCK!" Suphawut begs, bursting into tears. He rubs his forehead with his arms, settling in the level of screwed that he entered. Gustavo smirks and says "You know, jefe (boss), Rocky, I can buy Suphawut's debt. Say I give you $500, ahora (now). Suphawut owes me the same principle. I charge 15 points interest, monthly, no rush to pay the principle, is all good vato." Suphawut looks up at Gustavo, looking terrified. He immediately shakes his head in fear and turns to Rock, waiting his response, hyperventilating.

"I will handle the debt myself, Gustavo. Get your rake, I think I'm going to bed, heading out. I am falling asleep," Rock replies, as Suphawut sinks into his folded arms and cries into them. "Don't be such a chavala (little girl), mamón (sucker). Calm down and get the fuck out. I'm closing shop," Gustavo mutters to Suphawut, putting out his cigar on an ashtray.

Gustavo pockets his share of the pot as Rock claims the rest and Suphawut sobs into his arms. Rock stares at Suphawut and realizes the entire system that Roanapur, or virtually any city, survives on. The flow of money and goods, from one place to another, from one's hands to another's. Whenever there is a disagreement on the amount or movement of said flow, conflict emerges, and violence may erupt.

Rock holsters his M9 and leaves toward the exit. Revy gets out of her chair and asks Benny "You coming?" "Yeah, I'm heading out," Benny answers. Revy nods and then looks at Gustavo, saying "Adios, have a good one." "Iguanas-ranas (same to you)," Gustavo replies. She looks down at Suphawut and says "See ya, Suphawut." "I'm fucked!" he cries out, wiping snot off his nose.

Revy retrieves her handguns and holsters them. She, Rock, and Benny exit the back door and head to the main street. The three head back to their studio. Benny quickly breaks the silence "I've seen you hustle before, Rock, but that was just merciless!" Rock sighs and waves Benny off, shaking his head. Revy interjects, saying "Look, Rock, you did the smart thing. Had you let the debt slide, or just let him pay you back with no interest, then word would spread. People would say 'Oh, Rock is giving away money, he is soft,' or 'Rock is a nice money lender. Let me be his friend so I can rip him off.' Trust me, you don't want that kind of shit floating around. It attracts the wrong kind of attention." Rock sighs and says "Merciless would be me selling the debt to Gustavo. If that happened, two months from now, Suphawut would wake up in a ditch with half his fingers chopped off."

Revy lets out a laugh and says "Yeah, doubt he be frying any noodles if that happens. Well, you own him now. Just gotta make sure you collect on him. Oh by the way, I'll get you your $800 when we get back to our place." "Surprised you ain't charging Revy some stiff interest rates," Benny interjects. "Fuck you Benny!" Revy swears as Rock waves his hand in disregard. He mutters "I wouldn't do that to you, Benny, or Revy. I am sure Roanapur understands that. Suphawut is a friend of mine, like Emilio used to be for Revy, before he got shot." The subtle implications of Rock's comment cause Benny to acknowledge and shut up.

"So Benny, how's it feel to lose to a guy with more track marks then brain cells?" Revy jokingly asks. Benny waves Revy off and says "It happens. Proves that sometimes it's better to be lucky then clever." Revy smirks and says "I have no idea how they got into the Nigerian mafia." Benny laughs in exasperated confusion and says "Samuel and Adeyemi in the Nigerian mob? Did Samuel bullshit some story?" Revy stares at Benny with a look of confusion and says "What the fuck? Didn't you say Adeyemi works for the Nigerian mafia?" Benny wags his right index finger and says "The keyword is 'for'. He is barely an associate with them. He and Samuel just help move stuff out in and out. I'd imagine that Chang and the Nigerians have some trucks that move stuff between Roanapur and the rest of Thailand, and that Adeyemi's company works as a front for distribution here. I never ask the details, since they sure as shit won't tell me."

Rock looks up and yawns, saying "So the delivery truck that is supposed to arrive with the windows for our car is actually being loaded up with heroin? And that Samuel and Adeyemi did not want to say anything in front of Gustavo, concerning rival business?" Revy looks up and smirks, saying "Maybe, Rock. That's pretty fucking clever."

Benny laughs and says "Adeyemi with a gun, performing robberies…that I can't see. Though I did think the same of you, Rock. Not that you are an idiot, just that I thought that what you see is what you get." Rock sighs and asks "Benny…did I change?" Benny laughs and says "Change? Did you change? You did more than just change. You fucking did it. You actually pulled it off. I never thought that some sheltered, college educated, cubicle denizen could do it. I mean, this is like Mike Brady becoming Frank Matthews. I didn't get it at first, didn't believe it at first, but you fucking pulled it off, Rock. You gone and broke bad!"

AN: The Spanish that the characters are speaking is Mexican Spanish, and in the case of Gustavo, filled with slang. Or at least that is what I attempted. Translations are not literal translations in this case, but translations of what the words really mean. Again, at least that is what I attempted.

Just in case: Points is slang for percentages, and is usually used to describe interest rates on borrowed money.

 


	9. Playing Hazard

A Chinese woman in a red Adidas tracksuit and a fat Thai man in a Hawaiian shirt stand in the hallway of a dirty, dimly lit apartment building. The pair, revealed to be Revy and Tinsul, rest their backs on the grey colored wall, close to the stairwell. A metal mesh covered window glows black, a gateway to the night. Suddenly, a man in a white, casual dress shirt with a shirt pocket, and a bluish green tie, appears in the hallway. Revy rolls her eyes and drowns out Tinsul's comments, reaching for a gun in her pocket, but finding no such weapon. The white shirt and tie man approaches the two, revealing himself as Rock.

Tinsul stares at the man and sizes him up. A stern look on his face, the Thai man asks "Who are you?" "I am Rokuro Okajima," the tie man replies. Not satisfied, Tinsul inquires further as Revy looks away in boredom "What is your function? What do you do?" Rock calmly and emotionlessly replies "I am a contraband smuggler."

"Oh shit, you're a gangster? Like pull the trigger and they're on the ground? Really?" Tinsul exclaims, looking amazed, as Revy suddenly stares in interest. Rock reaches under his dress shirt and pulls out a M9 pistol. "Oh shit man, you bought that? Looks authentic!" Tinsul exclaims. Rock calmly holds the grip of the pistol in his right hand and the barrel of the pistol in his left. "I'm using it for exercise. Like riding a bike. Repetition, so I don't forget," Rock calmly replies. "That's fucking awesome! C'mon, point the gun. I want to see!" Tinsul exclaims further, looking ecstatic, as Revy smirks in amusement.

Rock grips tightly on the pistol with his right hand and aims it at Tinsul, one-handed. Tinsul waves Rock off and says "No, not like that! Do it like Sonny Crockett, like in Miami Vice! Two hands, man!" Rock then grasps onto the grip of the M9 with both hands, aiming the gun at Tinsul. Tinsul exclaims with glee, beating his chest "There you go! Now shoot man! Shoot!" A shot goes out and hits Tinsul in his protruding gut, followed by a shot to his left shoulder, a shot to his lower left abdomen, and a final shot into his belly button. "Fuck me, bastard actually went and got himself a real gun. He actually did it!" Tinsul mutters as he slides down the wall, leaving streaks of blood behind on the wall.

Revy blankly stares at Tinsul's corpse, and then at Rock. Rock blankly stares back, not saying a word.

The two enter Revy's room in the Black Lagoon studio 'apartment'. Revy heads toward her bed and falls on it back first. She unzips her red Adidas tracksuit and tosses it away. She then removes a black undershirt, exposing her breasts. Rock walks up to Revy, Revy smirking at him. Revy motions at her jeans. She complains "C'mon Rock, I ain't got all day." Rock sets his M9 down on the ground and attacks the top button of Revy's jean. He struggles to get it undone. "Rocky baby, what's the matter?" Revy groans. Rock annoyingly replies "It's stuck. I'm having trouble getting it off."

"Rock having trouble with buttons, Ms. Irregular? Maybe I can sell that information off to the highest bidder," Eda blurts out, dressed as a nun, sticking her head out from the bottom left of the opened doorway to Revy's room. Suddenly, from the bottom right of the opened doorway, Fabiola sticks her head out, dressed as a maid, and exclaims "I warned you about that dangerous Japanese man, chingao (fucker). It's a shame that your field of flowers is just that, a field of shit." Suddenly, right above Eda, Songxie sticks his head out, wearing a brown fedora and a brown, double-breasted suit, yelling "Escuse me! Are you payin too much fow cawr insuwance?" Suddenly, right above Fabiola, Takahashi, dressed as a giant loaf of bread, sticks his head out, exclaiming "You don't have car insurance? You are a wretched disgrace!" Tinsul suddenly runs up, covered in blood, and crouches between Eda and Fabiola, saying "Holy shit that hurt! Hey, let's make a deal! Some of my meth for a day with those honkers! Woo hoo!" Luca Cavalcanti jumps in, dressed as a Vancouver Canuck goalie without a helmet, blood streaking down his head, towering over Tinsul, yelling "I knew you had it in yourself, Rokuro!"

Suddenly, bullets fly at the doorframe and over the crowd's head, as all six of the onlookers scream and duck and panic as they disperse from the doorway. Revy fires from her two Cutlasses with her arms draped over Rock's shoulders as Rock fires from his M9, the two of them smiling and laughing. A loud knock suddenly resonates through the building, as the room is engulfed in a grey light.

Revy wakes up in her bed, face planted on her pillow. She rubs her hair and looks around groggily, yawning. It has been three days since Revy and Rock worked for Takahashi and Rock snorted crystal meth. She suddenly hears the toilet flush, and sighs. Getting out of bed and exiting the room, she stands in front of the bathroom. The door to the bathroom slides open and Benny, wearing a sleeveless white shirt and not wearing his eyeglasses, steps out. "Second time this week you woke me up, Benny. Do I have to carve the directions to the bathroom on your arm?" Revy hisses at Benny. "Pardon Revy, just a combination of my nasty hangover and my need to piss. I can't see that well without my glasses," Benny apologizes, rubbing the back of his head. Revy raises her eyebrow and asks "How many beers did you have at Gustavo's place last time?" Benny lightly laughs and answers "I reckon…around a dozen. Gustavo was getting annoyed with my 10 yard dashes to the restroom."

Revy rolls her eyes and asks "Dutch and Rock still asleep?" Benny nods and says "Dutch is out. Rock is still sleeping. Dutch told me to tell you about another job from Takahashi. Same as last time." Revy snarls and says "Fuck, I knew it. We don't even have the car ready yet." Benny frowns and nods at Revy, feeling satisfied with an idea, and says "I can drive you two to the place." Revy shakes her head and says "Better to have at least one car here that Dutch could use, in case you and Dutch get a second job. It's alright, I'll call Reynolds, one of Takahashi's guys." Benny solemnly nods and says "I'm making pancakes for myself. Want some? And should I wake Rock up?" "Thanks Benny, I'll get two. And let Rock sleep, I'll wake him up later," Revy answers.

"1 and O!" the Japanese umpire yells, calling the pitch a strike as Rock swings and misses. Rock, dressed in the uniform of the Hanshin Tigers, stares down the pitcher of the Yomiuri Giants, in the Tokyo Dome. It is well into the night. A runner stands nervously at 3rd base, as Rock looks up at the scoreboard. It is the 8th inning, the score 5-3 in favor of the Giants. The scoreboard also indicates that there is currently 1 out in the inning. The Tigers team manager yells out "Use the sacrifice bunt, you selfish idiot!" "We are down by 2 runs in the 8th!" Rock yells back. The Giants catcher suddenly mutters "It is wise to use the bunt in this situation." Rock shrugs the catcher off and waits for the next pitch. It sails far to the right, giving Rock a 1-1 count. Rock sways his bat back and forth, waiting for the next pitch. "BUNT! You moron!" the manager yells again. The pitcher tosses the ball down the middle. Rock swings and fouls the ball off, giving himself a 2-1 count. "You stupid, selfish idiot! You are going to cost us the game!" the Tigers manager yells once more. "I can fucking handle it!" Rock yells back. The umpire leans toward Rock and says "You know, bunting would be the smart move here." Rock's eyes twitch as he starts grinding his teeth, almost foaming at the mouth.

"You want me to bunt huh? Bunt this!" Rock yells, swinging his bat at the umpire's head. The bat slams into the umpire's skull. The umpire's head slumps downward, and then he collapses. The entire stadium hushes into silence. Rock swings his bat at the air above and yells "You like that? Well watch this!" Rock drives his right foot into the catcher's face, sending him to the ground, and then tosses his bat at the pitcher like a javelin. The hilt of the bat strikes the pitcher in the chest. Rock runs over to the pitcher, grabs the bat off the mound, and then bashes the pitcher's face in.

Rock grasps his blood-stained bat and looks around, grinding his teeth. The fans, the dugout, the bullpen, everyone starts converging onto the field. Slowly, ever so slowly. A few isolated groups turn into a 40,000 strong mob, all slowly converging toward Rock, all staring at him. An Ainu chief in ceremonial attire, an Armenian Orthodox priest in elaborate robes holding a battleaxe, American actor Steve Buscemi holding a black briefcase while wearing a T-shirt that says "Folgers Coffee", and Japanese actor Masumi Okada in a cream suit all stand in front of a bizarre circus of various characters.

Rock nervously stares at the crowd, clutches onto his bloodied bat, and bolts toward a gate in left field. The angry mob chases after Rock, who vaults over the gate and sprints towards an exit. He swings the wooden door open, jumps inside, and slams the door shut, locking the mob out.

"Hello, your application to the Buraku Liberation League has been approved," a long haired Japanese man in a red winter coat announces, smiling behind a desk. Panting and still dressed as a member of the Hanshin Tigers, Rock mutters "Oh…okay? O…kay…phew." The Japanese secretary smiles and says "For the furthering of the rights of the Burakumin, your first assignment is to kidnap a member of the Lower House of the Diet, Representative Tarō Asō. You are to then transport said target to a designated safehouse, where you will videotape him being spanked with a paddle until he apologizes for perceived insults to the Buraku people." Rock stares at him with a shocked, almost amused face, and blurts out "…WHAT?" The secretary smiles even wider as Rock's baseball bat turns into a tennis racket. The secretary says "Your driver is waiting outside. If you don't agree with us, you're racist haha!"

Rock stares at the secretary and then leaves through a side entrance, stepping onto the streets of Tokyo, tennis racket in hand and baseball gear on his person. He spots a Japanese yellow taxi cab, the front left of the car facing the street before him. Yet for some bizarre reason, the driver's wheel is on the left side. Rock shrugs his shoulders and steps into the front side passenger seat. He turns around to meet his driver.

"Are you Okajima!" Rock flinches as his driver, a blonde man with a Texan-American accent, wearing thick, black framed glasses akin to Buddy Holly, yells out at the top of his voice. He is dressed in a white collared dress shirt, black vest, and black and white 'military' hat that is typical of Japanese taxi drivers. Regaining his composure, Rock says "My name is Rokuro Okajima. I am the newest member of the Buraku Liberation League…somehow. I have no idea how an application in my name was sent. Anyway, I have been told that you are driving me for the job."

"OKEY DOKEY, EMPEROR ROCKAJIMA! I'LL JUST BE TAKIN' THIS HERE BURRO FOR A SPIN AROUND THE BLOCK!" the driver yells out, laughing hysterically to himself. Rock looks at the American, terrified, and sets his tennis racket on his lap. The taxi cab speeds up and onto the main road. "HEY EMPEROR, I GOT HERE SOME SWEET WHITE SNOW! WANT A SNORT?" the driver asks, dumping a pouch of cocaine onto the dashboard. He suddenly brakes the car as Dutch, half-naked and wearing army fatigue pants and combat boots, runs across the street with Benny, also half-naked and also dressed in army fatigue pants and combat boots. The cocaine flies back at the driver, covering the car, him, and Rock in powder cocaine. Benny carries a surfboard in his hands as Dutch holds his Remington Marine Magnum shotgun. Dutch yells out "I told you Benny boy, this shit is better than Disneyland!" Rock rolls down his side window and sticks his head out. "Hey Dutch, who's in charge here?" Dutch turns toward Rock and raises his eyebrow, saying "You are, right?" Benny and Dutch cross the street as the driver speeds the taxi away.

The taxi suddenly passes by a large, walled compound covered in barbwire. A searchlight fixates on the taxi, as men shout out garbled words in Japanese. Suddenly, a red, rusting 4 door Toyota Hilux pickup truck speeds out of the compound in pursuit of the taxi. Rock peers his head out the window and notices that the license plate says "AUM SHINRIKYO." Three Japanese men sit in the passenger seats of the truck as a Japanese woman drives the truck, and one Japanese man and another Japanese woman stand on their knees at the rear of the pickup. Everyone but the driver is brandishing AK-74us.

"Oh hell, driver, get us out of here!" Rock yells out, part of his hair covered in cocaine, returning to his seat, as the driver, face covered in cocaine, mashes the gas pedal. The truck continues in its pursuit, spraying bullets at the taxi. "Oh c'mon! It's Aum Shinrikyo in a Toyota Hilux! Outrun them, you can do it!" Rock yells out, crouching in a fetal position. The driver swerves the taxi to the right and yells "THE THING ABOUT THE TRUTH, EMPEROR ROCKAJIMA, IS THAT YOU CAN'T BE A RESCURER, BECAUSE THE ENERGY COMES FROM THE DISCOMBABULATED PAST! YOU GOT TO LET GO OF THE FEAR, YOU KNOW? YOU SEE, TOKYO PREFECTURE IS LIKE A GIANT BOWL OF SEAWEED SALAD, IT JUST GOES ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND!" The driver turns on the radio. It plays "Satori Part 2" by Japanese 70s rock band Flower Travellin' Band.

"Get us out of here already!" Rock yells, as the taxi barrels through a metal fence with Aum Shinrikyo in pursuit.

A bullet from a Kalashnikov shatters the driver's side window. The taxi crosses a series of railroad tracks, absorbing bullets from the cult gunners. "Buckle up Rockajima. I didn't, look at me now!" the driver exclaims, which causes Rock to hurriedly buckle his seatbelt. Suddenly, a train barrels through the tracks as the taxi crosses the tracks, hitting the slight rear of the taxi. The taxi spins out three times, slamming the left side of itself into a stationary train car. The seatbelt keeps Rock from bashing his head against the interior of the taxi. The train in front of them continues moving, as Rock removes his seatbelt and grabs his tennis racket. He runs toward the trunk of the car and jumps inside, shutting the trunk.

Rock hears a truck park nearby as the sound of the train dissipates.

"HOW YOU DOIN' TODAY, MISTER SOLAR TEMPLE!" the driver yells out as Rock hears a group of Japanese people chatting amongst themselves. Suddenly, a Japanese woman yells out "SHIH-NEY! (Die)", which is followed by the sound of a Kalashnikov empting itself into the driver seat.

Rock hears the sound of Kalashnikovs tapping against the metal exterior of the car. A window is shattered, followed by another one. Suddenly, he hears the sound of a rifle tapping against the trunk of the car. Sweating, terrified, and in a fetal position, Rock closes his eyes and braces for the worst.

"Okajima! Okajima! Get out of the spider hole!" Rock opens his eyes. He looks around and finds himself in a manmade hole, with torn leaves on the ground. He looks on his person and realizes that he is dressed as a Japanese soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army, wearing a helmet that is covered in netting. The racket in his hand has become a Type 99 Arisaka rifle. Rock climbs out of the spider hole and finds himself in a tropical jungle. The sound of artillery thunders in the distance. He turns toward his sergeant, a man in the same uniform as Rock, except for a brown military cap on his head. "Obata has given the order, Okajima. We are to fight to the last man as the rest of Obata's forces retreat to the north. The Americans are making deep pushes into the jungles. Attach a bayonet to your rifle and ready your grenades. You are ordered to kill as many of the Americans as you can before you die. Farewell Daisuke! It has been a pleasure to serve with you!"

Rock blinks and wonders to himself  _"Obata? Daisuke…grandpa? Is this…GUAM?"_  Another sergeant, whom Rock recognizes as Shoichi Yokoi, sternly glares at Okajima. Clutching onto his Arisaka rifle, he mutters to Rock "Tenno Heika Banzai (May the Emperor live 10,000 years)" and trudges north, toward the mountains and caverns of Guam. Rock's neutral, pale expression slowly morphs into mortifying terror as he realizes the predicament he is in. He watches his 'sergeant' wave both his arms up and down before his troops, yelling "BANZAI!" as the fellow soldiers follow suit. Rock watches as the men shake the dice in their hands in their futile attempts to throw in the main 10,000 times in a row.

Rock pensively joins them, waving his arms up and down, shouting "BANZAI!" He fastens a bayonet on his Arisaka and crouches behind a pair of fellow soldiers. The group, numbering over 50, prepares a final, suicidal charge. Rock's heartbeat matches the rhythm of artillery in the distance. An Imperial Japanese lieutenant, appearing to be barely as old as Rock, unsheathes a military sabre and waves it in the air, as the entire force cries out and charges into the thick jungle.

Lagging behind, Rock paces his steps as soldiers vault over tree roots and shuffle through thick vegetation. Spotting an opportunity and realizing the hopelessness of the situation, Rock turns to his left and bolts down a hilly patch of jungle. Tripping over a tree root, he rolls several meters downhill. As he stops his descent, Rock climbs back up and mantles over a fallen tree, the crater of an artillery shell not far away. Suddenly, he hears English spoken in an American accent. Crouching, he ponders over the correct way to surrender to them without getting shot. His heart beats at the pace of an MG42 as he mumbles to himself. Hearing the sound of gunfire in the distance, Rock seizes his chance and jumps out into the open.

He drops his Arisaka rifle to the ground and raises his arms into the air. Two American marines hear this and turn around, both of them dressed in military gear and a helmet. One of them, a man with slightly brown skin, yells in a thick Chicagoan accent "Oh shit! Don't move Tojo, don't move!" A second marine, with skin that appears to have once been white only to have been burned by the sweltering sun, a thick moustache, and a scar across his chin, aims his M1 Garand at Rock and yells in a New Jersey accent "You surrendering? Fuck, Andrews, what are we supposed to do with him?"

Judging by their faces and tone, Rock comes to the conclusion that both of these soldiers haven't slept since they were first deployed. Their bodies twitch as they chatter between each other and yell at Rock. Rock places his hands behind his head and breathes heavily, terrified. Even though Rock understands what they are saying, he is too terrified to open his mouth. The marine with the Chicago accent yells "Watch yourself, Corn. These Japs have been getting clever." Rock gathers from the chatter that the man with the Chicago accent is named Andrews, and the man with the New Jersey accent is named Corn.

Andrews draws a Colt M1911 sidearm and aims it at Rock, unsure of what to do. "I say we shoot him now, save us the trouble. These guys don't like to surrender. I reckon the Jap here has something planned for us," Corn mutters, which causes Rock to panic. Hiding his reaction, he starts hyperventilating, as Andrews scans the trees. "C'mon Andrews! He's probably planning to kamikaze us or something!" Corn yells out, nervously scanning the trees. "Do you speak any Jap, huh Corn?" Andrews nervously asks. Corn shakes his head and says "I didn't pay attention to those classes. Neither did you."

Rock suddenly jumps to his feet, his hands behind his head, and starts screaming "I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER! I GIVE UP!" Andrews and Corn both aim their guns at Rock and yell "Sit the fuck back down!" Corn yells "Andrews, do you understand any of that gibberish?" Andrews anxiously shakes his head and scans Rock. He spots a grenade hanging from Rock's belt and yells "FUCK, HE'S GOT A GRENADE ON HIM!" Rock yells "NO, STOP!" Rock lunges for his Arisaka as Andrews fires two shots into his left shoulder and Corn fires two shots into his stomach. Rock falls to the ground on his back and blinks.

The Pacific sun has been replaced with a sheet of clear glass, as Rock lies down in a wooden coffin that's covered with a glass lid. Disorientated, and with a burning sensation in his left shoulder and stomach, Rock slowly regains his senses. He looks up, and watches a crawler crane that says "Asahi Heavy Industries" begin to lower his coffin. Rock looks around in confusion, and his confusion turns to horror as he spots the front building of the Yasukuni Shrine. The crane lowers Rock's coffin onto a recently dug grave right in front of the main arch of the Yasukuni Shrine. He starts panicking, punching the glass to no avail. "STOP! HELP! I AM STILL ALIVE, LET ME OUT!" he yells to no avail, as the Asahi Industries crane lowers his coffin into the ground.

Fujiwara, Rock's manager back in Asahi, and Kageyama, Rock's and Fujiwara's boss, stand over Rock's grave with shovels in hand. Ignoring Rock's screams for help and bashing on the glass, the two take a hearty scoop of dirt from nearby and dump it on Rock's coffin, slightly obscuring Rock behind the glass. They drop their shovels and head out of sight. "PLEASE! HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE! HELP!" Rock yells out, crying, groaning from the pain in his shoulder and chest.

Suddenly, Revy, dressed in the black top, gloves, and shorts that she is accustomed to wearing, steps by Rock's grave. She peers down and says "You seem to be stuck there, partner." "GET ME OUT REVY! HELP!" Rock yells in horror and desperation. Revy blankly stares at Rock's grave and says "I thought you don't like grave robbing." "CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE, NOW HELP ME!" Rock desperately pleads, bashing his fists against the glass. Revy smirks and says "Sure thing partner, catch." Revy reaches for one of her Cutlasses and drops it into the grave. The Cutlass sinks through the glass and lands on Rock's right forearm. Awkwardly and hurriedly, Rock hooks the trigger with his right middle finger and brings the gun to his stomach. He then grabs the Cutlass with his right hand and points upward at the glass.

Rock pulls the trigger. The gun jams and the bullet stays stuck in the barrel. Terrified, Rock tries to squeeze the trigger again, to no effect. He slams the Beretta against the walls of the coffin, slamming the gun, screaming. Screaming.

Rock wakes up screaming and reaches for the M9 under his pillow. He immediately pulls back the safety and turns around. The window and its glint of glass are the first thing Rock spots. Still screaming, Rock fires twice, shattering his window. "Fuck was that?" Revy yells out. Rock, hyperventilating, turns back on the safety lock and sets his M9 down by his knees. "That came from Rock's room! Did he kill himself? What the hell?" Benny yells out, his tone sounding startled. "ROCK! ROCK!" Revy yells out, quickly turning open the doorknob to Rock's bedroom. Stepping in, her look of fear melts into relief, and then quickly into annoyed confusion as she yells "What the fuck happened?"

Rock yells out "I'm alright Benny!" Rubbing his forehead, he continues as Benny enters the room "I had a nightmare." Revy starts laughing and says "Tell that to the landlord when you ask him to replace your window." Rock starts laughing out of anxious relief and says "I had a dream where I was batting for the Hanshin Tigers, and that I attacked the pitcher with my bat, and then this giant angry mob started walking toward me, and for some reason Steve Buscemi was there." Benny chuckles and asks "Was he in a suit with a briefcase or with a bowling bag." Rock sighs and says "He had the briefcase with the diamonds and a Folgers t-shirt." Benny places his right hand on his hip and his left index finger and left middle finger in the air, pointed upward, saying "Oh! A two for one special! Reminds me of that dream I had with Kam Fong from the old Hawaii 5-0 series and the guy from the Crazy Eddie commercials. 'His prices are…INSANE!'"

Rock rolls his eyes, nods, and continues "I escaped the angry mob only to somehow get recruited into this militant Japanese civil rights organization, and given a job to kidnap a local Japanese politician. Then I get into a taxi, and my driver is this bizarre American guy talking about seaweed salad and calling me Emperor," Benny stares at Rock and says "The hell were you smoking last night?"

Rock ignores Benny and continues "We almost ran over Dutch and you, Benny, with you two dressed like you were in Apocalypse Now. Then we get attacked by this crazy Japanese militant cult, who chase the car down and kill my driver. I hid myself in the trunk and the next thing I know…I'm in Guam during the Pacific War! I was told to do a suicide charge, but I was terrified, so I ended up running to surrender. The soldiers didn't understand me and didn't want to handle a P.O.W., and they shot me. Next thing I know, I am being buried alive in a glass coffin. Revy hands me one of her cutlasses, cause for some reason she wanted me to pull the trigger," Rock pauses, giving Revy a dirty stare, to which Revy replies with two middle fingers.

"Anyway, the gun sinks through the glass. I grab it, pull the trigger, and the thing jams! I then started slamming the gun against the coffin, and then I woke up, still terrified. That's why I shot my window," Rock concludes, panting. Benny smiles and says "Well clearly, this is a waste of time. Want some pancakes?" Rock nods and says "Two, with banana on the side." Benny nods and heads back into the living room.

Revy folds her arms and surveys the shattered window "Just so you know, Dutch ain't paying for this, and I'm sure as shit ain't payin' either." Rock waves Revy off and says "It's okay, I'll pay for the repairs. Let this be my idiot moment of the week." Revy laughs and says "Calendar weeks sure get shorter when I'm around you." "Ah shut up, Revy!" Rock retorts, laughing nervously to himself. Revy approaches Rock's bed and places her right knee on his mattress. She says "We got another job, you and I. Takahashi is calling again. Seems like I was right about Tinsul, couldn't think of any other reason Takahashi would hire us. So, you want to see Takahashi first and then come in heavy at Tinsul's apartment, or do you have some plan in mind?"

Rock asks Revy a question "Remember back when we were in Tinsul's place, how his 'associates' were behaving? What would you get from how they were around Tinsul? I didn't see much authority or respect being thrown around aside from him berating a guy over misspelling a CD label." Revy laughs and says "Oh, they only are there to get paid. Tinsul is not exactly popular here in Roanapur. The city tolerates him like a hooker tolerates herpes. His men think the same of their boss. Don't think that they'll just be fine with you coming in heavy though, they'll protect him alright. Doesn't do much for your rep as a bodyguard when you let someone shoot your boss up. Though more importantly, they'd think that they'll be next after their boss goes down. So if we comin' in heavy, we do it from the start."

Rock's face turns serious, as he thinks deeply for a few seconds. Nodding to himself, he cracks a violent, bloodthirsty smirk and says "It's all falling in place…yes. Yes…Tinsul is about to lose. Takahashi is going to lose. It's all ready. Yes…this is actually going to work! Call Reynolds for transportation, and don't bring anything that isn't concealable. We are going to see Takahashi first, and then most likely deal with Tinsul. I just need to make one very important phone call."

"Alright then, though I hope this plan is a good one," Revy replies. Rock climbs out of bed and says "The plan is a bit less risky than some of the ones I put together before, but it's a good one. It's crazy and exciting, and as Dutch says, that's what matters." Revy shakes her head and smiles, walking toward the living room.

Exiting from the bathroom, wearing shorts and sandals, his taped chest exposed, Rock takes a seat in the living room. He seats himself on the grayish-blue sofa, his back facing the kitchen. Revy seats herself on the opposite sofa, with a coffee table separating them. They look toward a TV placed on a large desk stand, with a slightly old VCR player still on top of it. A painting of a Thai lagoon, previously hanging where the TV is right now, has been moved to the left. A coffee maker sits quietly to the right of the television. The television shows a broadcast from a Bangkok based news station. In English subtitles, the broadcast announces the death of Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, as a result of multiple organ failure.

"What the hell! That's horrible. Damnit, he was the greatest actor to ever come from my native country. I knew he was old but…fuck!" Rock swears, slightly unhinged. "He's just a fucking actor," Revy blurts out. "I know I know, but this man was an icon in Japan. This news came as a bit of a shock," Rock replies. Inside the tiny kitchen, Benny prepares a 2nd batch of pancakes, with two pancakes already on 1 plate and a single pancake on a second plate. He yells out "Wasn't Mifune in that miniseries? 'Shōgun' I think it was called. I watched reruns of it back at my home in Tampa, Florida." "He was in that, amongst some other movies. Him and Kurosawa went together like pastrami and Swiss," Rock answers.

"Hey wait a minute, today's the 24th right? Tomorrow's Christmas," Benny blurts out. Revy laughs and says "I'd give a fuck, but since I'm in Thailand, I really don't." Benny waves Revy off and returns to making Rock and Revy their breakfast. The pancake batter slowly morphs into three genuine pancakes inside the frying pan. "Hey Benny, how's Jane doing?" Rock yells out. "She's okay…still a bit shaken from having to pick brain matter out of her hair," Benny replies, giving Rock a dirty stare.

Benny places two plates of pancakes on the table, both with forks and knives on them. "Hey Benny, you forgot my banana," Rock blurts out as Benny heads to the kitchen to retrieve his own breakfast. As Rock turns around and prepares to cut one of his pancakes into pieces, a banana pegs him in the back of the head. "What the fuck?" Rock yells out. "There you go, so you can shove it up your ass," Benny laughs to himself. Revy bursts into laughter, saying "Hey, that was a good shot!" Rock grabs the banana off the couch and turns around, saying "Who the hell throws a banana at someone's head? This isn't Mario Kart!" Benny, amused himself, returns to his seat with his own breakfast. "Now I am scared to ask Benny for a pineapple," Rock comments, shaking his head, placing the banana on the coffee table.

The three finish their pancakes in relative silence, paying attention to the television. Revy heads into the kitchen and returns with three cans of Heineken. She pitches one to Rock, who catches it with two hands, and then another to Benny, who does the same. The three all crack open their beers and take sips. Benny gets up and retrieves an ashtray from behind the coffee maker, setting the ashtray in the middle of the coffee table.

Rock retrieves a Natural Spirit cigarette and lights it, as Revy does the same. Benny finishes half of his beer before lighting a cigarette of his own. The three of them fill the living room with cigarette smoke. Rock grabs the banana and considers peeling it, smirking to himself. He holds the banana as a pistol and aims it at Benny. Cigarette in his mouth, Rock pretends to spin the cylinder of an imaginary revolver and aims it at Benny again, saying "Benny, bring me everyone." Confused, Benny asks "Everyone? The hell you are talking about?" "EV-VERY-ONE!" Rock yells out, doing his best Norman Stansfield impression, amused with himself. Revy shakes her head in amusement and says "I saw that movie. Wasn't bad, I liked it."

Rock eats his banana and clutches the peel in his hands. Heading to the kitchen, he stops by a bin, dropping the peel in the trash. He notices a steak knife on the counter. After pondering for a second, he grabs the steak knife and pockets it in his shorts. Revy notices Rock conceal the knife, but says nothing. Rock returns to the couch and seats himself. He finishes his beer and get up from the couch. Walking toward the telephone with a cigarette in his mouth, telephone mounted on the wall, Rock scratches his taped back. He retrieves a piece of scrap paper from his shorts. On the scrap of paper, a telephone number is written out. Rock punches in the numbers of the telephone number, leaning his left elbow against the wall, looking down on the ground. After a pause, Rock looks up and says "Hello, may I speak with your supervisor. You know…your  _supervisor?_ " Rock switches over to speaking in Thai "Krup, krup (yes, yes). Khun tongt riyam (You need to be ready)."

AN: In Japanese baseball, strikes were called before balls, so instead of a 3-2 count, Japanese baseball used a 2-3 count. This changed a few years ago. Now Japanese baseball uses a 3-2 count. Furthermore, chingao is swear word that is colloquially Mexican. Fabiola is not Mexican, I know, but in my stories, I have written and suggested that Revy learnt her Spanish in Mexico, so it being her dream, Fabiola using that word would make sense.

Throwing in the main is a term used in the old English dice game Hazard. It means tossing the number you call. As in, I call 7, and I throw the pair of dice, and I get 7.

The first dream is a clear homage to, and parody off, Takeshi Kitano's fantastic film "Takeshis'" And the banana throwing scene was inspired by Ed Byrne tossing one at Dara O'Briain during Mock the Week. Yep, some Americans do watch that show.

 


	10. Roanapur Wins Again

Rock exits the Black Lagoon studio, dressed in the black and red Jai Yen Yen shirt and beige shorts, wearing brown sandals. Revy exits the studio in her red and black tracksuit attire, wearing fingerless gloves and black sneakers. Reynolds' Volvo sits parked in front of the studio. Waving them in, Reynolds chews on a gyro, pieces of lettuce and onion falling on a plastic container. The gyro bread has a few dark spots on itself, appearing to be burn marks. Rock and Revy walk toward the Volvo and step inside, Rock seated right behind Reynolds, Revy right next to Rock.

"Salut (hey), how you been?" Reynolds asks, dressed in a red and green shirt with sky blue jeans, speeding the car from its parking spot. "Alright, alright. What's the job this time?" Revy asks, slouching in the seating. "The hell if I know, you'll find out yourself," Reynolds replies, passing an intersection. A thought creeps into Revy's head as she asks "Is that asshole Songxie going to be there?" Reynolds rolls his eyes and says "First, not until much later, and second, do what you Americans like to say. Err…give him a break?" Revy's eyes bulge out as she yells "A break? A BREAK? He sure gave our car a fucking break!"

Reynolds turns around and smiles, stopping the car before a red light. Slightly annoyed, he says "How would you like it if you had to sleep in a city where tourists are being hacked to pieces in the next door room? Between that and the stress of moving to Roanapur…he moved to Hawaii and lived there for a year until he was forced to move back to Roanapur. Moving is stressful. Putain (fuck), I've been trying to move my family out of France for a while. All of this unrecorded income is making things suspicious, especially since they are out of the 'suburbs' and now live in Bordeaux. By the way, Revy…you lived here for a long time. Do you happen to know which parts of Thailand are more hospitable and friendlier for black and French foreigners? Roanapur is out the question, obviously. Want to separate family from work. I remember reading about that Sicilian family."

Revy thinks to herself, and after a while, answers "Stay clear of the southern tip of Thailand. Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat. Those are riot and war zones waiting to happen. Ethnic tension, Thailand-Malaysian border, all that shit. Also stay away from the western border with Myanmar, with the Red Wa and all. Besides that, the rest of Thailand is pretty much the same. There isn't really much against black people here in general, more so racism against Nigerians and other African immigrants. Probably why Adeyemi and Samuel aren't working in Bangkok or Phuket. Some people here in Thailand think that African immigrants are all conmen and gangsters. As long as they speak English or French or whatever European language they speak, and with a European accent, people will generally just think that they are rich 'farang' on permanent vacation."

"Thanks, so Bangkok is safe and hospitable for them?" Reynolds inquires. Revy grabs onto the back of the empty passenger seat in front of her and says "As safe as any city in this corner of the fucking world. Bangkok is pretty fucking crowded, so like any clusterfuck city, you are going to get your murders and muggings. Though I can promise you that it will be safer then whatever slum you used to live in. Just tell them to watch out for scams. Ask Mr. Chinglish if he knows any merchants, tell him to tell them that such and such is a relative of yours. That way they don't get price gauged. Bangkok loves to price gauge tourists. And try to get some background info on landlords and shit before you go shopping. This country has some very sly motherfuckers, just saying."

"Merci, I'll start looking for housing in Bangkok then," Reynolds thanks Revy, stopping in front of a red light. He grabs his gyro and takes another bite from it, letting a piece of tomato fall on his red and green vertically-striped t-shirt. Revy notices the gyro and asks "Since when has Roanapur had a gyro shop?" Reynolds swallows what he was chewing and says "They opened it tout à l'heure (just now), like a week ago. This Punjabi family opened it. Well, me being a chatterbox, I made a conversation and found out that they moved to Roanapur from the Bangkok Punjabi community. I recommend it, the bread is délicieux (delicious). I'm thinking of getting some to Takahashi, maybe he gets idea or two. Maybe. The place is called 'Jewel of Jalandhar'. It's in the Indian community, two blocks away from Sanjay's shooting range."

Rock, confused, asks "Excuse me, but aren't gyros or things like those…aren't they Greek or Turkish?" Reynolds calmly crosses the intersection and says "Pizza is Italian, but I will give you a mille balles (1,000 francs) if you find a single Italian working in one here in Roanapur. Well, I mean as in 10 new francs." Revy peers closer at the gyro and says "Is that naan bread?" Reynolds stops in front of a red light and mumbles "Err… putain ce que c'est (fuck is that)?" Revy starts laughing and says "Reynolds, that's not a fucking gyro. That's a piece of Indian naan bread with some fucking meat chucks and vegetables thrown in."

Reynolds takes a left turn and says "I don't see a difference." Revy rolls her eyes and says "Yes there is, gyros don't use naan bread, last time I checked. Here's an experiment for you, five-star. How about you grab some wine, and then some seltzer, and mix the two together, and them tell me that it's the same as champagne. I'll give you a 100 baht if you say yes." Reynolds smiles at Revy and says "I don't care, I like it. Naan bread…hmm."

"Whatever," Revy replies back, slouching back into her car seat as Rock stares out the window. A woman in a black burka purchases a pineapple from a street vendor. The radio in the Volvo plays a French rap song "Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo, (Who sows the wind gets the tempo)" by MC Solaar.

The jazzy rap song fills the relative silence of the Volvo as Reynolds drives to the bread and meth factory. Residential districts turn to commercial districts. Ethnic communities come and go as streets change and faces, dialects, and store names morph from one to another. Suddenly, the Volvo enters the industrial district of Roanapur, with Takahashi's factory in sight. Reynolds drives up the road that separates the bread and candy factories, parking in front of a Chevy Tahoe that has its broken windows held together by tape. "Fucking Ey! Our friendly neighborhood illiterate cocksucker is here! Just fucking great!" Revy groans, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"We probably would not even see him, Revy. It is a large factory after all, and he works here anyway," Rock assures Revy, who smiles sarcastically and shakes her head. The three of them exit the Volvo, with Reynolds heading toward the gate. "Hey Reynolds, mind if I borrow a sledgehammer and accidently drop it on Songxie's shit-mobile?" Revy jokingly asks. "Very funny, Revy. Just a simple comedy," Reynolds sarcastically replies, unlocking the gate. He then leads Rock and Revy to a side door to the office section of the factory, unlocking that door as well. "You go in, I'm going to finish my lunch," Reynolds blurts out, patting Rock on the back.

Rock and Revy head up the stairs to Takahashi's office. Entering the hallway, they spot a Chinese man dressed in a blue blazer with a sky blue undershirt and black slacks, wearing grey tennis shoes. "Hold on there, Chang is in a meeting," the Chinese man says, his hair flowing down to his neck, revealed to be Biu. "Chang? As in Triad boss…Chang?" Rock inquires, confused. Biu stares at Rock, and then at Revy, and then asks "You are from Lagoon Company, correct? The Japanese ex-salaryman and the Chinese-American gunner?" "Yeah…who the hell are you?" Revy replies with a question of her own. "Name's Biu, I'm one of Chang's employees. He is having a conversation with the owner of this factory," Biu replies. He steps toward the water cooler, grabs a paper cup, and pours himself some water.

"Yeah, Takahashi. We are here for work, he has a job for us," Revy blurts out, resting against a wall. "Hmm, seems Takahashi is finding himself some friends already. Didn't take long," Biu replies, drinking from the cup. His sunglasses hang from inside his undershirt, hanging by the collar. "You know Takahashi?" Revy inquires, curious. Biu stretches his back and says in a hushed voice "Yea, he's some businessman from Hawaii. Chang's friend. Don't know much else. He sure surrounds himself with some interesting characters." Revy chuckles to herself and says in a hushed voice "Yeah, such as an illiterate prick, who owes us money for smashing our car to shit, but probably won't pay until the carrot in his asshole develops an exit strategy."

Biu points the index and middle fingers of his unoccupied left hand at Revy, saying in a hushed voice "You're talking about Tong, right? Songxie Tong?" "Yeah, you two acquainted?" Rock answers and inquires with a question of his own. Biu smiles and says, almost whispering "Oh yeah. He's something of a…character." A though suddenly hits Revy's head as she asks "Hey, I've been always wondering…you know Shenhua? Does she sound like an idiot in Cantonese?" Biu shakes his head and says "For one, she speaks Mandarin. I speak Mandarin too, I don't know Cantonese. Chang does, he's fluent in it, but not me. Shenhua is extremely eloquent in her Mandarin, you would be surprised. She could have a career in public speaking if she desired so." "And Songxie?" Rock asks, sparing Revy the trouble of asking herself.

Biu simply laughs, scans the hallways, and says "From what people have told me, Songxie's Cantonese is arguably almost as bad as his English. The guy is intelligent when it comes to business, but when it comes to basic communication, it can be frightening. He is generally liked though. Like I said, he is a 'character'." Amused with the answer, Revy nods to herself, content. Biu continues "Songxie was raised in Hong Kong…in Kowloon by alcoholics and opium addicts. He was homeless and without a family by the time he was around…13 I think. Maybe a bit older. I rather pity the guy, but he is making his money so it is all irrelevant anyway."

"That's fucked up, but it's his problem. Bastard still owes me for the windows," Revy mutters, her smile turning into a plain, solemn expression. Rock steps toward the water cooler and retrieves a paper cup of his own. Pouring water into the cup, Rock says "You are very open with information." Biu smirks at Rock and says "Information? I believe we were debating on who will win the most medals at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Nothing secretive about that…" Taking the hint, Rock drinks from the paper cup and says "I think Japan can win a few in gold. China has always been better at the summer games anyway."

Crushing the paper cup in his hands, Biu blurts out "I have money on Russia winning the most gold in Nagano. Given history and their performance in 1994, I would say that it is a safe bet. A friend of mine is betting on Norway for the same reason. Impossible to predict winners in these events, though."

Rock takes another gulp of water and says "Going back to the earlier topic on languages, your English is pretty good. Better than mine, really. I learned mine in university, and even then I had to practice it on a usual basis. Where did you learn your English? You don't even have much of an accent." Biu smiles, sizes Rock up, and after a delay, answers "Revy isn't the only ABC in Roanapur. That's all you ever need to know. Impressive achievement on the university degree. Not many people in our line of work actually finish college."

Suddenly, the door to Takahashi's office swings open as Takahashi, dressed in the clothes he arrived in Roanapur with, and Chang, dressed is his usual suit, step out, with Chang's arm patting Takahashi's back. Chang says "Again Ray, I love what you have done with the place. And I appreciate you agreeing to inspect my facilities. I'll contact you when an inspection would be fine. I'm having a dinner at my yacht club, and you are invited. It's all casual, so no worrying about any serious dress code." Takahashi smiles and shakes Chang's hand, saying "Thank you, Basil. It is my pleasure, and I will do my utmost to arrive."

Revy raises her left eyebrow and says "Hey Chang! Since when have you been called Basil?" Chang turns around and says "Oh, hey Revy. Rock as well. I take it that you are here on business for my dear friend Raymond, yes? I'll leave you two to your work. Say hello to Dutch for me. Joi gin (goodbye). Biu! We're heading out." Chang walks to the exit, not answering Revy's question. He picks up his sunglasses from a pocket in inside his suit jacket, and puts the sunglasses on. Biu nods at the exit and silently says his goodbye, following Chang. Rock and Revy turn to look at Takahashi, who stands in front of his office with a plain expression. He waves them into his office and walks toward his chair.

"Now let me say that perhaps we have gotten off on the wrong foot," Takahashi begins, sitting upright in his chair. Revy sits on a chair facing the left side of Takahashi, while Rock sits on a chair that is facing the right side of Takahashi. Rock interjects before Revy could open her mouth with a wisecrack, saying "It looks to be such." Takahashi solemnly nods and turns to Revy, saying "Since you are curious, I have trouble pronouncing Chang's full name, so I just shortened Bai Ji-Shin into Basil. The two of us are friends, actually." Revy bursts out into hysterical laughter, as Rock and Takahashi stare in confusion.

Falling out of her seat, Revy cries out tears of laughter as she slowly regains her composure. Returning to her seat and wiping the tears off her face, she says, still chuckling "The source of that nickname is sure as shit worth the 2 grand that you owe us, plus the money that your dip-shit partner owes us for his 'strongman' routine back outside. I feel SO much richer now that I know the completely fucking useless fact that the nickname 'Basil' was churned out from the manure in your skull that you call a brain. You know, I should just go to the gun shop, tell old man Praiyachat that Basil is short for Bai Ji-Shin, and demand that he give me an AR-15 as an exchange for telling him the fun fact. THAT WILL FUCKING WORK!"

As Revy prepares to burst a blood vessel in her forehead, Rock gives her a stare and calms her down, prompting her to seat herself. Turning to Takahashi, Rock says "There is money on the table that was taken from us. If you are here to offer us a job, let that be a starting point."

Takahashi removes his eyeglasses and sets them on the table. Grabbing a piece of cloth, he cleans the glasses and says "Whatever happened between you two and my partner is just that, between the three of you. And I am not giving you the money that you think you have earned. You secured a deal with two distributers. 2 by 2,000 is 4,000, so you have been paid accordingly. I am however, offering you another job, one that is continuous. I have already paid Dutch the $1,000 that he requires for hiring you two. I am willing to pay you two a sum of $1,000 for a simple delivery assignment, and $500 for each consecutive job. For some bizarre reason, Mr. Tinsul-aanan-da Pa…you know who I am referring to. Mr. Tinsul told me that he is having scant difficulty selling the methamphetamine and is already ready to accept another shipment. 2 pounds of product, this time. For some bizarre reason, he has insisted that you two, personally, deliver him the product. Otherwise, he refuses to accept any shipments. I do not understand the reasoning behind it, but a job is a job. Do you accept?"

As Takahashi puts his glasses back on, Revy slightly squirms in her seat, thinking to herself. She turns to Rock, who is staring at her. The two of them stare at each other silently for a few seconds, until Rock slightly nods his head. Revy nods as well and says "Alright Tak, consider it done." Takahashi calmly nods and says "I will notify one of my employees. You have transport outside, correct?" Revy nods and says "Reynolds is driving us. I'm going to imagine that your shit-for-brains partner hasn't smashed his car yet."

The three of them get up from their seats, with Rock and Takahashi shaking hands. Takahashi then offers his hand to Revy, who, after glaring slightly menacingly at Takahashi, shakes his hand as well. Rock and Revy step out of Takahashi's office and head down the stairs. Exiting the facility, Rock and Revy soak themselves in the Thai sun, with Revy scratching the back of her head. A few clouds enter the sky from the west, one of them slowly approaching the sun. The two approach the gate, with Rock peering through it. Spotting that the Volvo is empty, he turns around and says "Reynolds isn't here."

Revy pulls out her cell phone and prepares to call Reynolds. Right before she presses call, Revy exits the phone to the main menu and asks "Are you going to tell me about this crazy-ass plan that you have in mind?" Rock hums to himself for a bit, thinking of a way to phrase his ideas. "Remember back when Fabiola showed up in the Yellow Flag, with Gustavo and the other Colombian gangsters? Remember when she stabbed that one gangster in the crotch?" Rock replies. Revy raises an eyebrow and says "Yeah, I remember. Is that what the knife for?" Rock smiles and says "You saw that? I altered the plan a bit when I saw the steak knife, but the concept is the same. Sun Tzu wrote about attacking where there is the least defense. Forcing the enemy to defend one resource and then taking the other, less defended resource."

"Yeah, interesting…but the fuck you getting at, Rocky?" Revy inquires, leaning closer to Rock. Rock stretches his neck and says "When Fabiola stabbed that man in the crotch, she managed to do so because the act was unusual and the body couldn't react in time. Like yesterday, when you showed me the weak points that the Silat fighter taught you. The crotch is a weak spot, but most people are accustomed to defending against someone's foot, not against a small, sharp knife. Like an untrained boxer who sees a fist approaching and raises his or her hands out of instinct, blocking the head, letting the opposing boxer get a free, crisp shot to the body. Now in the case of Tinsul, he will react immediately if a knife is approaching his heart or face, and his belly does make it harder for me to reach him when we are both standing. However…you can finish the rest."

Revy extends the palm of her right hand out and stops Rock "Wait a minute. So you stab the fat fuck, then what? If he pulls out a gun and starts shooting? If his friends jump in? Then what? I say fuck it, we should come in shooting. Who knows what kind of shit that Tinsul's planning?" Revy shivers and grinds her teeth. She reaches inside her tracksuit pockets for her Cutlasses, feeling a sense of relief. She continues "If I see any guns waved around, I'm shooting the dickheads dead. When that happens, you climb behind the desk and stay there."

Rock raises his right index finger into the air and says "Can you imagine what I would do if I know everything that I can do? It's a quote by Sun Tzu. Remember why the Colombians just stood and watched when Fabiola stabbed the man in the crotch? They only attacked when she pulled out her gun. Why? Remember a couple of years ago, when I tried to convince a large ship to surrender using a megaphone, and you solved that problem with a rocket launcher? What reason would cause a group of armed men to exercise caution and fear against a short woman dressed as a maid? Why? What reason would cause a much larger ship to surrender to a torpedo boat? Why? Or when Songxie intimidated the Raskolz by threatening to shoot a little boy. Fear, Revy, that is what they all have in common. A demonstration of what you can do, if done fast and with the right magnitude, and your enemy will lose the will to fight. Too little and they become confident. Too much and they become angry, which is even more useful than confidence in a fight. It's a concept that Sun Tzu touched upon. It caused my homeland to surrender in WW2. If it can work for a proud and brave nation, that once launched suicide attacks on the enemy, it can work for the annoyed and apathetic bodyguards of an asshole drug addict."

Revy smirks and says "Alright, so say, by some luck, that this crap actually does work. You go mano-a-mano with Roanapur's local yokozuna, you'll get your ass kicked. Not for nothing but he can kill you by sitting on you. I admit, you're a bit stronger then you look, but still!"

"I will figure something out Revy. I just need some luck. Perhaps a lot of luck, heh. Seems it's better to be lucky then to be clever," Rock replies, placing his hands in his pockets. Revy stares blankly at Rock and says "Remember Rock, fear don't work all the time, especially when you don't got the right fear. I will say this again, if shit gets hot, take cover and keep your head down. Shoot only if they stick their head into your cover, a'ight? Be careful Rock, be fuckin' careful…" Rock smiles and says "I'll be careful Revy, I have a feeling this will work. If this works out, the second part of the plan will complete itself with no effort." "Second part?" Revy inquires, looking confused and partially annoyed. "You'll see Revy," Rock replies.

"Hey Rock, Revy. Désolé pour l'attente (sorry for the wait), you should have called. I got the stuff," Reynolds proclaims, holding two pounds of meth sealed in plastic. He extends the package of meth toward Revy, who says "If you went for a piss, you better have washed your hands. I don't want Spanish flu." Reynolds smiles and shakes his head, saying "Don't worry, the water problem has been fixed. Here, I need to open the gate." Handing Revy the package of meth, Reynolds fishes out a key and opens the gate. He then waits for Rock and Revy to exit the premises before he locks the gate behind them. Unlocking the doors to the Volvo, Reynolds steps inside, with Revy seated behind Reynolds and Rock seated next to Revy.

Driving to an intersection, Reynolds signals left and prepares to turn. Revy, with the package of meth on her lap, yawns and sighs. Reynolds turns left and says "I'm going to be busy for rest of the day. J'ai du travail à faire (I have work to do), some things I need to take care of. You going to need someone to drive you. That okay?" Rock sighs and says "Ah damnit. It's alright Reynolds, thanks for the warning. We'll figure something out." Reynolds scratches his right wrist and says "Bon d'entendre (good to hear), I hope that goes well for you. You two still up for the drinks I mentioned last time?" Revy slouches further into her seat and says "We can do it after tomorrow. I'm going to be spending my Christmas cleaning out the guns, my turn for that shit. Going to be busy, so after tomorrow is fine." Reynolds nods and says "Alright, I'm busy tomorrow anyway. Making phone calls to Bangkok, house shopping. What a way to celebrate Christmas…heh."

The radio plays "Maldonne (Misdeal)" by French rapper Ménélik. Reynolds taps on the steering wheel, matching the beat. Rock reaches into his pockets, gripping tightly onto the hilt of the steak knife. He looks down on his shirt, the shirt saying "Jai Yen Yen". Rock chuckles to himself, amused with the irony in that statement. Revy sighs and closes her eyes, a sense of anxiety filling her veins as she prepares to loan Rock a few chips for his crapshoot plan. She reaches down into her tracksuit pockets and feels her Cutlasses. Her fingers run across the engravings on the barrels, feeling the ridges of the grips. The rhythm of the song matches her steady heartbeat as she tries to let her mind drift. Failing to do so, she yells out "Open the windows Reynolds. I need a fucking cigarette, like now!" Rock listens to the lyrics, the words playing in his head  _"Le bien. Le mal. L'ambivalence fait mal. Je perds mon mal en patience, descends la spirale. (The good. The bad. The ambivalence hurts. I lose my pain in patience, going down the spiral)."_  He considers asking Reynolds for a translation, but decides to pass on it.

Reynolds silently obliges, opening both rear windows. Revy fishes a pack of Natural American Spirit cigarettes out of her tracksuit pocket as the windows roll down. She hurriedly fishes a cigarette out and places it in the right corner of her mouth, dropping the pack of cigarettes on the seating. Retrieving a lighter from her pocket, she lights the cigarette and scoots closer to the nearby window. Taking a drag of the cigarette, she exhales, her steady breathing and her now satisfied nicotine craving calming her down. Placing the cigarette in her mouth, she looks at Rock and says "Want a smoke?" Rock reaches for the pack of Natural American Spirit and fishes out a cigarette of his own. Placing it in his mouth, he motions Revy for a lighter, gesturing with his right hand. Revy tosses Rock her lighter and takes another drag of her cigarette, stretching her neck as far back as possible as she exhales into the roof of the Volvo. Rock lights his cigarette and takes a drag, exhaling the smoke out of the window.

Reynolds squirms slightly in his seat, driving across an intersection. A yellow light turns red as the Volvo screeches to a halt. Setting the car to park, Reynolds mutters "Putain de merde (fucking shit). I need a light. I didn't have my morning smoke today. Lighter back in the house, and now you making me crave one." Rock hands Reynolds the lighter that Revy gave him. Reynolds says "Merci" and fishes out a pack of Dunhill International Lights. Watching Reynolds light the cigarette, Revy says "Hey, look at you, smoking them Dunhills." Reynolds laughs and rolls down the two front windows of the car, cigarette in his mouth. He raises the pack of Dunhills with his left hand and joking says "These expensive cigarettes are the reason why I drive a 15 year old sedan."

Suddenly, a grey Toyota Dyna truck, that says "Fịf̂ā phạthyā (Pattaya Electrical)" in brown, Thai lettering on the sides of the truck, honks furiously at the Volvo. Reynolds swears "Va te faire foutre (Go fuck yourself)" and returns the car to drive, speeding through the intersection. "This is the first time I ever saw you smoke. How often for you?" Rock asks, curious. Reynolds takes a drag of his cigarette and says "Once a day, usually in the morning. That's my ritual." "Like four to five times a day, usually spaced out," Revy blurts out. "Same here," Rock concurs after exhaling smoke out of the window. The song "Maldonne" ends, to be replaced by "Nouveau Western (New Western)" by MC Solaar.

Arriving at Tinsul's apartment complex, Reynolds parks in front of the entrance and says "Bonne chance (good luck)." Revy exits the car, meth package in her hands and cigarette in her mouth, as Rock follows suit. The Volvo speeds off as a Vietnamese teenager in a white sleeveless shirt and black shorts bounces a basketball off the walls of the apartment. Rock and Revy both spit their cigarettes out and onto the ground, leaving them where they stand as the two walk toward the entrance. Stepping through the entrance, Revy heaves a sigh and says "Remember what I said, Rock. If your plan starts going to shit, I'm bringing the hatchet out and cutting the fuckers down." Rock stares solemnly at Revy and says "It won't come to that…I think." The two heave a collective sigh and approach the elevator.

Entering the elevator, Rock hit's the 9th floor button. As the elevator begins to move, Revy says "Let me have the knife. You'll probably lose the goddamn knife when pulling it out, getting your strategos ass stabbed." The elevator stops at the 3rd floor. A clean-shaven Indonesian man in a white songkok hat, sky blue jeans, a black V-neck shirt, and sandals walks into the elevator. The man hits the 7th floor button as Rock and Revy become silent. The elevator reaches the 7th floor as the man exits the elevator. The doors close behind the man, as Rock answers "No Revy. Tinsul might expect that from you. He won't expect it from me. I don't have your reputation." Revy shakes her head in annoyance and says "Just fucking be careful." Rock suppresses a chuckle and says "As careful as you can be when you are about to step into a gambling den."

Entering the floor of Tinsul's operation, the two step out into the hallway of the 9th floor. Kamol stands in the hallway, dressed as he was last time, Glock 19 in his hand. "Hey Tinsul, your 'ice cream' is here!" Kamol yells out, as Tinsul steps out, shirtless and wearing a set of track pants, flanked by a tattooed and shirtless bodyguard in jeans that is holding a sawed off shotgun. "Revy is here! The party will now begin! Fuck yes!" He waves them in, taking point as Rock and Revy follow in exasperation. Rock sticks his right hand into his pocket and grips tightly on the hilt, sighing to himself.

Kamol spots this, smirks to himself, and walks toward Rock, whispering "I saw that kaa joa (thug). If you going to do it, do it right, and don't hesitate. Like the farang say, you rub my back, I rub yours." Rock simply glares silently at Kamol, not saying a word. He turns around and follows Revy, slightly smirking to himself. In the span of a few seconds, his odds of success have spiked to comfortable proportions.

Stepping inside Tinsul's office, with Tinsul seated at the desk, Revy places the package of meth on the table. Surrounded by two men that are manning the computers and two other men, Kamol and an unnamed Thai gangster, blocking the entrance to the rest of the apartment, Rock and Revy scan their surroundings. On Tinsul's desk, a tin tray of what appears to be chicken teriyaki and soba noodles fills the room with the smell of teriyaki sauce. A pair of wooden chopsticks stick out, plunged into the noodles like the Excalibur in water. To the left of Tinsul's lunch, a stack of pirated CDs sit at the corner of the desk. Tinsul stares at the crystal meth, surveying the grooves and shards of crystal.

Tinsul stares at Revy, and then at Rock. "60 grand, right?" Tinsul asks, to which Rock silently nods. Eying Rock's shirt, Tinsul playfully smirks and leans back in his chair, saying "Jai Yen Yen? Ha, this ain't the city for 'Jai Yen Yen'." Revy blurts out and asks "So did you actually sell any of the last shit or did you just shove the entire package up your ass?" Tinsul smirks and says "Oh Revy…Revy." Revy offers a menacing smirk of her own and says "And here I was hoping that you would die of a heart attack on account of all the meth, you rotund motherfucker." Tinsul laughs and climbs out of his chair. Stepping toward Rock and Revy, he says "Rotund? We breaking out the fucking Websters and shit! I just wish I had a thesaurus, so I can tell you how I want those tits of yours in 15 different ways."

"Back the fuck off, lard-ass! Don't get any fucking wise ideas!" Revy says, taking a step back. She points her right finger at him and grinds her teeth. She looks around and spots Kamol with his Glock and the bodyguard with his sawed off. She watches the two men at the computers each draw a Ruger P90. Suddenly, Tinsul says "Too late Revy, my Revy. I think I got some fucking ideas." He turns to Rock and says "Hey, bukakke warrior, how about all of us have some fun with your girlfriend here? C'mon! What you say?" Rock's face twitches in anger, anger that he reels into himself. Seeing this, Tinsul smirks and says "Hey Kamol! Ting! What you say to that?" Kamol and Ting, the man with the sawed off, both stare at Tinsul in disgust and discomfort. "You cannot be fucking serious…" Ting mutters, glaring at Tinsul with disgust.

Tinsul laughs and says "Do I look like a fucking comedian, you piece of shit?" He turns to Rock and says "So, what about it…jaao por (gangster)?" Rock starts chuckling, turning to Revy. Smirking at a confused and disgusted Revy, he says "You know…sure." "The…fuck?" Revy swears with a disgusted and incredulous look on her face, as Rock sticks his hand into the pocket with the steak knife, reassuring Revy. Tinsul, looking like he just won the lottery, says "Good…fucking good!" Rock sticks his left palm out and interjects, saying "One thing, Tinsul. That shabu you made me try…was really something else. I…" Rock takes a deep breath and formulates the course of action in his head, continuing "I…may I have…a…erm…snort?"

Tinsul looks at the package of meth and then at Rock. Thinking for a second, he says "Sure, to our friendship! To the baddest motherfuckers in Roanapur!" He tears the package open with his bare hands, his ribs exposed. Rock thinks of ending it here and then, but hesitates. He realizes that he needs something to fix the hesitation. To ensure that this will be finished to its end. And to ensure that a statement will be made.

Tinsul fishes out a small shard of crystal meth as Revy stares in confusion. She suddenly remembers back to when Rock first snorted crystal meth, to when he assaulted a random bystander and nearly killed him. She suddenly realizes the plan, the reasoning, the methodology.

Tinsul crushes the shard of crystal meth with his fist and arranges it into a line of white powder. He fishes out a $1 American note and rolls it up, handing it over to Rock. Slowly, Rock approaches the line of shabu, takes a deep breath, and sticks the $1 bill into his right nostril. Tinsul, facing Rock, smiles in amusement, as Rock continues his descent into a true low-life. Kamol realizes what is about to happen and whispers to the Thai gangster next to him "Ting, what happens next…don't move." Anticipating the upcoming shit storm, Revy sticks her hands into her tracksuit pockets, her hands gripping tightly onto her Cutlasses.

Closing his eyes, Rock snorts the line of crystal meth. He tilts his head back, letting the powder sink into his blood stream. The sudden rush of extreme euphoria and adrenaline almost overwhelms him. Rock smiles, almost laughs, as he thinks back to the mercenary captain that he sent into the ocean, to the yakuza bosses that he convinced Balalaika to murder, to the insane gambit with Roberta and Garcia that left him a hero and Chang upstaged. To the Italian-Canadian mobster named Luca Cavalcanti, whom Rock 'martyred' courtesy of a bullet to the head…to all the chaos and the anger and the bitterness that have been bottled deep inside him. The nightmares that plagued him in Japan. The nightmares that plague him in Roanapur.

He removes the dollar out of his nose with his left hand, almost crushing the dollar in his vice grip. Tinsul spots this and anxiously says "Hey Rock. Jai yen ye…"

"SHIH-NEY MANKO! (Die cunt)" Rock screams out in Japanese at a volume that even causes Revy to flinch. Flowing like water through a stream, Rock pulls the steak knife out of his pocket and crouches down. In a quick, furious motion, the steak knife plunges itself into Tinsul's ball sack.

"HOLY SHIT!" One of the guards by the computer yells, aiming his gun as Tinsul screams in pain. Kamol aims his Glock at the shocked guard and stares him down. Revy takes a step back as Rock kicks Tinsul in his left kneecap, sending him to his knees. Rock grabs the stunned and agonized Tinsul and slams his head onto the desk. Tinsul's head bounces off the desk. Out of reflex, Tinsul grabs Rock and slams him onto the stack of CDs, causing the CDs to spill to the floor and a small gash to form on the top of Rock's head. Turning around the corner, Rock grabs a CD and smashes it across Tinsul's forehead. The CD, now broken and jaded, becomes a weapon as Rock tries to slash Tinsul's face with it. Tinsul sends a sharp punch into Rock's stomach, staggering him. Had it not been for the meth and it's anesthetic properties, Rock would collapse from pain. However, Rock only numbly feels the blow and swings the broken CD at Tinsul, missing. The CD shard and Rock's fist land on the soba noodles of Tinsul's lunch, as Tinsul punches Rock's chest with his ham fists.

Rock falls on his back, dragging the tray of teriyaki and soba noodles with him. Tinsul falls on his knees, grimacing in horrible pain due to the knife in his crotch. The tray falls on Tinsul's back, staining his back in teriyaki sauce. The two chop sticks roll toward Rock's right arm.

Tinsul strikes Rock in the face, causing his lip to bleed. Revy takes a step forward and considers intervening, her hands gripped tightly on the Cutlasses in her pockets. A bullet to the head, quick and painless. What Revy later would find out to be an act of mercy.

Rock grabs the wooden chopsticks and grips tightly on them. He ducks his head right, letting Tinsul hit him in the left ear. Using his opportunity, Rock aims the teriyaki soaked tip of the chopsticks at Tinsul and drives them into his left eyeball. A spray of blood patterns Rock's forehead.

The entire room, except Revy, gasp at what they just witnessed, as Tinsul falls backward and lies on the side of the desk, screeching in pain and agony. Blood both seeps out of his crotch and flows out of his eyeball, as Tinsul cries violently. He tries to say something, but all he could do is scream, and scream, and scream. Rock smirks sadistically and yells "YOU GOT FUCKED NOW, BAKAYAROU (Asshole)!" He smiles at his accomplishment in stabbing an idiot in his crotch and eyes.

Kamol smirks and holsters his Glock, approaching the bloody mess that is known as the screaming Tinsul. Kamol reaches for the steak knife in Tinsul's crotch and pulls it out. Arcing the knife down, Kamol drives the knife into Tinsul's heart, euthanizing him. Smiling at his handiwork, he proclaims "How unfortunate, that our boss got so high off ya ice, that he would stab himself in the crotch, eyes, and heart. I tell you, Takahashi must be selling some potent stuff, jaao por (gangster). 60 grand you said? Ting, get 60 grand from the safe!"

Ting stares at Kamol and asks "So…you the boss now?" Kamol laughs and says "Yes. Do you, or anyone else here, have a problem with that?" The three Thai mobsters look at Rock, and then at Kamol. Looking at each other, they nod and say in unison "No." Ting walks out of the hallway, obeying Kamol's order.

Revy walks over to Rock and pulls him to his feet. She uses her sleeve to wipe off the blood on his lip and forehead. Blankly staring at Rock, she says "I came here with a shitload of possible ways in mind that this would have gotten resolved. This…all this shit that happened just now? Not even close to any of them." Sighing, she says "So…with the hind shit, plus the success with Roberta round 2, and this, and in light of the fuck ups with that Japanese bitch and with that Chinese hacker, I say that you are 3 for 5. 60% ain't bad…it ain't bad at all."

She stares at Rock's Jai Yen Yen shirt, which has a slight blood spatter on it, probably from Tinsul's eyeball. She sighs and wonders how much of the change in Rock is attributed to Roanapur, to Black Lagoon's usual assignments, to Revy's own influence, and to the incident with Luca Cavalcanti. She resigns herself to never probably finding out. After all, she knows that Rock has made the conscious decision to stay here, all this time, and let this happen to himself.  _"He's a grown man Revy, he can make his own fucking decisions. Don't you dare fucking blame yourself,"_ Revy ponders to herself.

Rock whispers into her ear, smiling maniacally "I'm not done yet." He turns to Kamol, who grabs the sack of money out of Ting's hands. Grabbing the money himself, Rock grips tightly onto the cash, almost ready to tear the sack apart with his bare hands. He smiles and says "I need a car. Does Tinsul have one?" Kamol points toward the exit and says "The fuzzy dice keychain, across the street is his car. Dark blue Cadillac Calais, second gen. It's a coupe." "Thanks Kamol, good luck," Rock says, patting Kamol on his shoulder. Rock heads for the exit, grabbing Tinsul's car keys along the way.

Opening the door to Tinsul's Cadillac, Rock seats himself in the driver seat and Revy seats herself in the only passenger seat in the car. Seeing this as her chance, she turns to Rock and asks "You could have slit his throat, ended it quick and easy. When we were walking into his office. When he was tearing the package open. Why? Why the fuck did you do…whatever the fuck you just did?" Rock laughs and says "I had no idea that Kamol wanted to usurp the position. But…it ended up making things easier for me." "You didn't answer my fucking question!" Revy yells, visibly angry. Rock laughs and sighs, looking down at the dashboard. Slightly grimacing to himself, he says "I…guess…I think. I think I wanted to make him suffer. To prove them wrong. Dutch, Benny, Gustavo, Tinsul. They are still running on old information…but I showed them."

Revy grabs Rock by the collar of his shirt with her left hand and drives her right fist into Rock's jaw, almost dislocating it. Visibly enraged, she yells "YOU FUCKING PSYCHO WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU! What happened to you Rock? What the fuck…has fucking happened? What is this shit? You are not how I fucking remembered you back when we first met!" Angry, Rock replies "What now? You going to say that because you had a shitty life being poor, that you can do this, and it's alright because you suffered? That it's different for me?" Revy wails on Rock, striking his face and chest. Pushing Revy away, Rock tends to his sore jaw. After a few seconds, he says "Revy…remember back at the China Bowl, when we had our fight, and you almost killed me? Remember what I said? I asked you…what you know about me. I ask you now, what do you know about me?"

The two become extremely silent, as Revy struggles to properly answer the question. "Fuck you," is all Revy could manage, the thought of beating Rock to a pulp crossing her mind. "Revy?" Rock asks. "Yea?" Revy replies, annoyed. Rock mutters "Do you think you are good person?" Revy laughs and says "What kind of fucking question is that?" Satisfied with his answer, Rock asks "Do you think I am a good person?" Revy grows silent again, thinking to herself. Suddenly, she says "What is it? Luca? That glasses bitch back in Japan? Fucking what?" Rock pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his shorts and takes out a cigarette. He looks around and spots a green lighter on the floor under the dashboard. Rock grabs the lighter and lights his cigarette. Taking a drag, he exhales, the nicotine and meth flowing through his veins. His body alternates between stinging pain and numbness.

"I should be guilty…but I don't. And it bothers me. I should care that Yukio plunged a sword through her throat, that a young woman's life ended before it even truly begun. And I carried that photograph around. I…I thought I was doing the right thing in this place. The twilight, I called it. Both sides of the ethical scale. Fucking hell… I thought I…I don't even know what I was thinking. I mean…I cared…at the time. But now I don't and…I don't know. Maybe I desensitized. Maybe Benny is right, maybe I did change. I…well I know right and wrong…and yet here I am, a pirate…contraband smuggler. I know right and wrong, and yet I still go against it. I had done this before, even before Luca happened. At least one mercenary in a helicopter is dead because of me. Several Yakuza gang members are dead because of me. Several American soldiers are dead because of me. Garcia has a family…Roberta and Fabiola. But so did those soldiers. So did those gangsters. Wives...children…maybe even grandchildren. Their blood is on my hands…I took them away from their families. I…I mean," Rock pauses, his body almost shaking in stress, the chemicals in his brain fluctuating.

After a short pause, he continues "What right do I have to do that? Those gangsters…those soldiers…those mercenaries…maybe a couple of them were truly bad people deep down, but almost all of them had families, friends. And now they are gone. And I don't care. And it bothers me. I just don't think about it. I trivialize it…and it somehow works. I…I stopped caring. I care about you…about Benny and Dutch. But…in general…I stopped caring. It was like…when I came onboard the Lagoon. I felt free…but my life in Japan…I suddenly stopped caring about it. And slowly, bodies and blood no longer bothers me. The fact that they no longer bother me…is what bothers me. But I know what I want. Feng's brains being spilled on Jane was a bit of a wakeup call. Please don't tell Benny I told you, but the day I was kidnapped by Luca, earlier in the morning, he told me that my cowardice and plans almost got you killed. Or at least I think that's what he was driving at. The incident with Luca was another wakeup call. I am not fond of having my chest carved, but I learned something that day. I don't want to become that. I don't want to become someone like him. I don't think I could prevent myself from becoming something like that if I kept doing what I was doing. I know what I want to do. I want to make money…and I want to share my spoils with you. I care about you. I care about myself. That's it. That's what I care about. It's simpler and less painful."

"So that's it Rock? All of your speeches and gambling…all of that comes to fucking this? Fucking fuck…" Revy hisses, still angry but slowly calming down. "Yes Revy, that's it. I am a sociopath that knows right and wrong and still gives morality the bitch, metaphorically speaking, but at least I am not some asshole hypocrite." Revy smiles and stares down with a look of mild sadness and amusement. She thinks about apologizing for her onslaught, but ultimately says "Partner...how's the jaw?" "It's nothing, pain isn't registering to me right now. I should be fine when the meth wears off," Rock replies, keeping the effects of meth on his brain at bay. Struggling, mightily.

"I realized something today. I didn't save Roberta from completely becoming insane. Garcia did. All I did was set it up and get a lot of soldiers killed…and a nice bonus from Chang. That was a nice bonus…it was," Rock blurts out, reminiscing on the past. Revy pulls a cigarette out of her pack of Natural Spirit and lights it with her lighter. Taking a drag, she says "You know, when we stopped at your house, and sat outside, the 2nd time. The time when I shot the cans with my Cutlass. I saw how nice your house looked like from the outside, and I thought…maybe you are the answer. A part of me thought that you are going to get me out of this gutter. And I realized later, how much of a fucking hypocrite, how much of a bitch I was, to think like that. Fabiola is a bitch, but she did give me a good wake up call. She gave you one too, along with those broken ribs. This is who I am, Rock. I'm most likely going to die here. Tomorrow, in a year, in a decade? I don't know, but fuck it."

Rock smirks and says "This is my home too, and this is who I am. Fuck it, as well." Revy says "You don't need to convince me." Rock sighs and says "I'm just saying. I'm having fun. I am enjoying life. I am a despicable piece of scum that belongs in some far away prison, but I am content. I am who I am. Something inside me must have always been like this. Otherwise, I would have hauled my ass and ran off." Rock sighs and continues "And for the record. That house is as gilded as it can be. It is shit wrapped in gold foil. It may look nice on the outside, but looks can be very deceiving. I wake up in my room in the studio, or in my quarters on the Lagoon, and each time, I am content knowing that that house is far away." Revy stares at Rock and asks "You ever going to tell me what happened over there." Rock frowns and says "Maybe, but not now. I get very….fucking uncomfortable and angry when I think about it."

"Hmph," Revy mutters. Annoyed, she pulls out a cigarette of her own and lights it. Taking a drag, she exhales into the rolled up passenger window. Knocking ash of his cigarette, Rock suddenly speaks out "Revy?" "Yea?" Revy replies, partially annoyed. "Did you ever watch the Godfather?" Rock randomly asks. Confused by the type of question, she answers "Saw the 2nd and 3rd one. Haven't gotten around to seeing the first one." Meekly smiling, he asks "Do you remember the ending to the 3rd one? Where Michael Corleone was sitting on a lawn chair as an old man, alone? Where he just dies alone and broken, with just a dog there as witness, watching him die?" Revy nods and says "Yeah, I remember."

Rock grimaces and sighs deeply, taking a deep drag from his cigarette. Exhaling into nothingness, he says "I am not afraid to die, Revy. I am afraid to die alone, to die like he died. I watched the 3rd film a few months before I went to my fateful trip into Southeast Asia that ended with me becoming a member of the Lagoon. When I saw Michael Corleone slump over and die alone, I felt scared like nothing I ever saw before. I felt like I was about to suffocate. I realized that that is my fate if I would have stayed in Japan. Something about me seemed to disagree with the place…I don't know. I just knew I had to get away. I just had no way to leave. I needed my job, my home, I couldn't just pack up and leave. Before, all I thought I needed was a bar and a batting cage."

He shudders and places his right thumb and right index finger on his head, cigarette in his right hand. Shuddering once again, he says "When you and Dutch were pointing your guns at me, during my kidnapping, all that was flashing through my eyes was Michael Corleone, falling off the lawn chair. When you shot at me during one of your flashes of rage, during the kidnapping, all that was flashing through my eyes was Michael Corleone dying. And the strange thing is, I almost died, and yet the one thing that flashed through my eyes was not any memories of mine, but a scene from a damned movie. Michael at least had memories flash before his eyes before he died. I had nothing!"

"Hmph," is all that Revy could muster as she looks down at her feet, sighing and blowing smoke. Taking another drag of his cigarette, Rock continues "Ironically, you nearly killing me woke me up. So yes, when I had the chance to join Black Lagoon Company, I didn't hesitate." Sighing, Revy says "Rock…Michael Corleone died alone because his way of life caused everything he cared about to go to shit. That's pretty much Roanapur in a nutshell." Rock stretches his neck and says "That's not Roanapur. That is just life, the good and bad. The luck of the draw. Kim II-Sung dies past the age of 80, while Kitty Genovese is stabbed to death for walking down the street. I read that her killer managed to escape the police and raped a woman before he was caught again and put behind bars. Bad things happen to innocent people, and monsters sometimes get away and cause more harm, even escaping capture for good. You don't have to be a violent gangster to experience suffering. And you don't always get the punishment that you deserve. Luca Cavalcanti died as he wanted, and could have lived to his 80s if he was lucky enough. Roanapur taught me that the world doesn't run on karma, because if it did, we'd both be dead or in jail."

Rolling her eyes, Revy says "What is your fucking point?" Rock knocks ash off his cigarette and says "My point is…is that I'm going to live my life how I want to live it. And whatever happens, happens. I know the choices and the consequences. I know what I can expect. I am not a tragic hero. And I am glad that you stopped becoming a tragic heroine. Again, like I said earlier, and in our fight after the shooting range and Vietnamese hobo, I don't want to be a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is bad for our health." Rock takes another drag from his cigarette and exhales, his eyes red and his pupils dilated. "I know who we are, Revy. We are the Balalaikas, the Changs of this world. We are the villains, the enemies to society," Rock concludes, his throat dry and coarse.

"If there's no Robin Hood, then become Robin Hood. You're fucking words, not mine," Revy smirks, poking fun at Rock's earlier hypocrisy. Rock laughs and says "We aren't exactly qualified to become Robin Hood." Revy starts laughing hysterically and says "No you fucking idiot. We sure as shit aren't." "That's what I wanted to hear. Phew…how things have changed over the past couple of years," Rock says, crushing his cigarette on the dashboard. Revy sighs and says "Rock, you aren't the most consistent motherfucker there is." Rock laughs and says "I'm pretty fucking consistent Revy. You just have to look between the cracks." Revy rolls her eyes and says "Whatever…dipshit." Hiding her amusement, she feigns annoyance.

Rock starts the car and drives onto the street. "Screw you," he slings back at Revy, amused with himself. Revy looks at Rock and feigns anger, saying "Oh yeah, limp-dick asshole? Fucking bring it on!" Rock smirks and says "I did, multiple times." Revy further feigns her anger and yells "Oh yeah, Mr. I can't get it up cause of the crystal meth? Try it, I fucking dare you!" Calling on her dare, Rock yells "Oh, you want it now, huh?" Taking guilty pleasure in goading a rare rise out of Rock, she yells back, barely hiding her smile "Yeah Mr. Japanese! Or are you too fucking scared?" Rock mashes the gas pedal, sending the Cadillac past 80 mph. Running a couple of red lights, the adrenaline pumping into his veins, Rock brakes the car to a skidding halt and makes a sharp turn into an alley surrounded by abandoned buildings.

Partially surprised, Revy asks "You do fucking know that it's still flowing down there, right?" Rock laughs and says "I ain't going to let a little blood stop me, alright?" Revy laughs and says "Fuck…are you serious?" Smirking, Rock says "I'll save my bullshitting for the after-hours." Revy grabs Rock by the collar of his shirt and says "Then what the fuck are you waiting for?"

Revy and Rock pant in the Cadillac, laughing between each other. Revy seats herself on a car mat that covers the passenger seat, wiping blood off her pants with a napkin. "We're fucking insane…fuck I liked these pants," Revy comments, still panting. "Get new ones, they aren't expensive," Rock replies, panting. "Fuck, this is the last time Rock. Last time we're doing anything like this. Whole car smells like smoke and blood. Get the windows," Revy says, tossing the napkin on the floor. Rock rolls down both windows and says "It ain't out car. Hey, maybe we should call Adeyemi, tell him to fix the mess." Revy starts laughing and says "It'll be like an episode of CHiPs in Roanapur, ain't nothing going to make sense." Rock raises his eyebrow and says "Potato chips?" Revy laughs and says "No, it's some show about highway cops." Rock's eyes light up as he says "Shit, I forgot. Damnit…one second."

Rock sends the car in reverse, sending it out the alleyway. He turns the back of the car to the right, almost hitting a passing sedan that honks at him. Switching to drive, Rock hits the gas and speeds away, looking out the window. "Fuck is it you doing?" Revy asks, confused. Rock spots a payphone and parks the Cadillac by it. "Part two of the plan, Revy. I already won this game at the turn card. Now I just need to let the river card be dealt," Rock says, exiting the payphone.

Revy watches as Rock converse on the payphone, hearing him say phrases such as "It's been done" and "There is a gate", peppered with a rare Thai phrase such as "Chain mai-ruu (I don't know)".

Returning to the Cadillac, Rock begins the drive back to Takahashi's factory. During the drive, Revy asks "How did you know that Kamol was making a play?" Rock scratches his nose, the euphoria from the meth being contained, and says "I didn't. It came out of complete nowhere. I didn't contact him or anyone. Show's how much of a bakayarou (asshole) that Tinsul was, when his own protection wanted him dead. What that pig tried to fucking do…" Revy glares at Rock and says "You know sure as shit that if Tinsul so much as tore a thread on my tracksuit that I would have smeared that fucker's brains on the walls. I don't need your fucking help, alright! I can handle myself!"

Rock laughs and says "I know I know. Trouble is, if you would do that, then Kamol and the others would die next, because they would think that you would shoot them next. Their fears become a self-fulfilling prophecy when the two of us would have shot them all after they open fire. In this case, we preserved the gang and the operation, and put someone with less shit in his brains as boss. This way, we don't owe Takahashi for tampering with his distributers."

Revy laughs, understanding Rock's motives for choosing such a complicated path in solving such an issue. Thinking to herself, she says "I wonder what Takahashi's going to do when Tinsul's dipshit ass is found. Kamol 'ruled' it a suicide, though I wonder if Takahashi is really that stupid." Rock blinks and says "We're going to find out soon."

Stepping into the office portion of the factory, with James Apuna locking the door behind them, Rock and Revy walk up the stairs to Takahashi's office. Reaching the door to Takahashi's office, Revy knocks three times on the door. The door creaks open, and then is immediately shut closed, as Songxie yells "We busy, fuck off!" "Let them in, Songxie," Takahashi speaks out, to which Songxie sighs and opens the door. Rock spots Songxie, dressed in a dark green and black diamond patterned shirt, grey sweat pants, and black track shoes. Rock tosses the sack of money at Songxie, who catches it, stares inside, looks impressed, and says "You no total useless!"

Rock and Revy each take a seat, with Rock covering the slightly blood-stained lower regions on his Jai Yen Yen shirt with his folded arms. "So, where's our pay?" Revy asks, very annoyed by both Takahashi's and Songxie's presence. Takahashi motions Songxie over, grabbing the sack of money out of Songxie's hands. He peers inside and notices a mix of stacks of hundreds, tens, and twenties, all in USD. He grabs a stack of tens and tosses the stack at Revy, who catches it. As Revy pockets the stack, she yells "And the 2 grand you fucking owe us you piece of cocksucking shit? And the money for the windows that your drunk ass partner fucked up? Huh? You got a lot of fucking debt, Tak!"

"Get out!" Takahashi yells, visibly angry. Songxie spots this and suppresses his laughter. Suddenly, to both Songxie's and Takahashi's surprise, Rock stands up from his seat and grabs onto the edge of the desk, leaning forward. "No, Takahashi, we're not getting out until we get what's owed to us. Do…you…UNDERSTAND!" Rock yells out, visibly angry and high. Songxie notices the blood on Rock's shirt as Takahashi notices the dilated pupils on Rock's eyes. Takahashi glares at Rock and says "Are…you high? AGAIN?" Songxie interjects, saying "What…again? What I miss?" Rock glares at Songxie and laughs sarcastically, saying "Yeah, Songxie. Again. That is what it took to seal the deal with Tinsul at first, and that is what it took for him to not blow our brains out. So yes Songxie, again." Rock turns to Takahashi and says "A-FUCKING-GAIN! Do you know how miserable it is to recover after snorting crystal meth? I don't know how I am going to recover this time. And all because you thought that it would be a good idea to do business with a malignant aho (idiot) that is quite probably wasting all of the crystal meth that was sold to him by putting it up his nose. How the hell does someone sell 3 pounds of crystal meth in the span of a few days? With the territory that Tinsul holds on to? What were you thinking?"

"EXCUSE ME?" Takahashi yells, grinding his teeth and seething in rage. Songxie immediately interjects, yelling "I TOLD YOU! You no listen, Tinsul is asshole! Bad business, unreliable, surround by idiots. Only reason he alive is because he lucky no one stab him in back. But do you listen? NO! Jook-sing's boyfriend did right this time. Mhgoi (Thanks), thank." Revy jumps out of her seat and grabs Songxie by the collar of his shirt, saying "We don't want your 'thanks' and your 'told you'! We want our fucking money! How many times do I have to yell this until one of the brain cells in that shit tank that you call a skull suddenly jolts into action and processes this simple fucking thought? WELL?"

Suddenly, a knock is heard on the door. The door swings open and a man with pale skin, hazel colored hair tied into a ponytail, and a five O' clock shadow, wearing a brown buttoned shirt and dark blue pants that have a sky blue pattern of thin, large squares, jumps in and yells in a California accent "They broke through the goddamn gate!" Takahashi pushes Rock's face to the side, a gesture that angers Rock, and yells out "Malcolm, what happened?"

Suddenly, a Thai man, dressed in the uniform of the Roanapur police department, tackles Malcolm and pins him to the ground. Four more police officers funnel into the office room as sporadic detachments of cops run across the hallway. Three of the police officers wield Smith and Wesson Model 10 revolvers as a fourth one in rectangular eyeglasses and a police captain's hat stands behind the other three, unarmed. He points at two of the police officers and motions them towards Rock and Revy, who are now standing with their backs to the left wall. The two officers motion for Revy and Rock to put their hands up against the wall, to which they quickly comply. Revy rolls her eyes in annoyance as one of the cops frisks her sides, removing Revy's Cutlasses from her tracksuit pockets. Another officer frisks Rock, taking his M9. The unarmed cop then motions the remaining cop toward Songxie.

The remaining cop motions Songxie to put his hands up against the wall. Songxie simply stares at the cop with a bemused look on his face. His bemused expression turns into rage as he spits on the cop's right shoe. The cop smacks Songxie across the head with the barrel of his Smith and Wesson, drawing blood. Songxie collapses onto the ground as the cop places his right foot on Songxie's head, pacifying the situation.

The unarmed cop grabs a seat and sits down. Upon closer reflection, he appears to be rather muscular and is sporting a thin Vandyke beard. The officer takes a deep breath and then speaks out "I am not so good in English…but I do not think that your Thai is good either." The officer stares down a nervous Takahashi for a few seconds, and then continues "I am Piyawat Suttikul, first name Piyawat, last name Suttikul. My investigation into the death of Tinsulaananda Phatipatanawong has brought me to this place."

Songxie's eyes light up in shock, his face still planted onto the floor. He blurts out "Tinsul is dead? Fuck happen?" Piyawat heaves a sigh and climbs out of his chair. He walks toward Songxie and kneels down, his movements slow and deliberate. Staring down Songxie, he bellows "You speak when spoken to."

Piyawat stands up and returns to his seat, ready to resume the conversation as if nothing happened. Sighing once more, he says "Mr. Phatipatanawong appears to have stabbed himself in the testicle region with a knife, shoved a pair of chopsticks into his left eyeball, and then stabbed himself in the heart with that same knife. Now, I do not need to tell you that people generally do not put chopsticks into their eye sockets. Previous arrests and crimes charged against Mr. Phatipatanawong revealed no mental things…no…issues. What I did found, however, was contact information…addresses, names, numbers, that lead to this place. I also found powder that looks like Thailand's favorite treat…ya ice. Crystal meth is a dangerous drug, Mr. Takahashi. It can make a man put chopsticks in his eye."

Takahashi begins to sweat profusely, his hands shaking out of anxiety. He says "Detective…I am but a simple busine…" Piyawat raises his right palm at Takahashi and stops him. He says "Detective? Try Chief of Roanapur Police Department." Takahashi swallows saliva and shudders, almost ready to cry. He mumbles out "I…do not want to go to jail. Please…" Piyawat slowly begins to chuckle, amused at the pathetic sight before him. If Piyawat actually arrived to detain Takahashi, he would feel sorry for him.

After a pause, Piyawat speaks out "I don't want you to go to jail either. You make good bread…good candy. My wife…she loves your sweets, especially the strawberry flavored ones. However…I need your help so I could help you." Takahashi calms himself down, staring at Piyawat with a perplexed look on his face. Piyawat smiles and rubs fingers on his right hand against each other. Takahashi blinks and asks "Are you asking for a bribe?"

Piyawat laughs and says "If my predecessor Chief Watsup was here, he'd be asking for a handjob." The four police officers burst out into laughter, as Rock and Revy continue to face the wall and Songxie remains on the ground. Quickly snapping out of his laughter, Piyawat continues "Like Chief Watsup, I intend to have Roanapur remain as it was made to be. However, the loss of the La Cosa Nostra clan of Thailand has left both a hole in power and a hole in our paychecks. You have filled one hole. Now you have a choice, fill another hole, or I will put you in jail, where desperate men will fill a third, previously disregarded hole. It is simple. I will contact you, in private, as to how much you will be…'taxed'. You have previously untouched territory, plus some territory that the Sicilians used to have. It will be the same tax as it was for the Sicilians. No greater…no less. As it was…as it will be."

Takahashi takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and shudders. Calming himself down, he extends his right hand, shaking hands with Piyawat. Satisfied with what he has accomplished, Piyawat turns to Rock and Revy, saying "Mr. Phatipatanawong's associates have said that Phatipatanawong lent two people his car. You match the description. However, that car is evidence and…are you high?" Piyawat grabs Rock's jaw and pulls his head closer, surveying his eyes. Sighing, he says "You are a danger to those around you. You two…come with me to the station."

The two officers that frisked Revy and Rock for their weapons now grab them by their shoulders and push them toward the exit. Songxie stares, realizing exactly what just transpired. He smirks and quietly mutters "Japanese is smart man. I impressed, not know he can do this. Know now." The third cop removes his shoe off of Songxie's head, saying "Chief, we good to go?" Piyawat nods and says "We good, Officer Nantakarn."

Rock steps first into the police car, with Revy seating herself to the left of Rock. Officer Nantakarn slams the car door as Chief Piyawat Suttikul steps into the driver seat. One of the cops that frisked Rock and Revy hand Suttikul the two Cutlasses and the M9. He places the guns on the empty passenger seat and drives off. Chief Suttikul approaches an intersection and makes a left turn. Completing the turn, he says "I will let you go by the docks when no one is looking. When I do, you two will walk home immediately and stay there for the rest of the day. Do not even open the door for the delivery boy."

"Thank you, Chief Suttikul. I take it that we will be paid as we agreed," Rock mutters as Revy suddenly understands everything. "You will get the 2 grand that I promised, but not in money. Next time you and your boss pay your monthly bribes, I will waive as many months of bribes until your voucher runs dry," Chief Suttikul coldly proclaims. "Vouchers aren't exactly liquid," Rock mutters. Chief Suttikul replies with a raised voice "You aren't exactly in a position to negotiate. And two, do not think that this was your plan! We've been trying to get into the facility well before Takahashi came to Roanapur, back when Watsup was Chief. You were a cornerstone, but we are the actual bricklayers. Remember who is in charge. I am, not you. Understand?"

Rock menacingly smirks and says "I understand." He snarls at the window as Revy takes a deep breath. After a short pause, Rock asks "What happened to Kamol?" Chief Suttikul snarls and says "Nothing happened, he's my wife's brother you idiot!" Revy chuckles and says "Well that's convenient." Chief Suttikul sighs, his eyes bulging in annoyance. He says "No it's not. I'm just happy that he is not causing too much trouble. This position is a gold mine, and I am not going to lose it on account of my brother-in-law. Oh and yes, this conversation never happened."

The sound of a phone vibrating fills the silence. Chief Suttikul pulls his cell phone out and puts it to his ear with his left hand. Suttikul speaks "Chai (yes)? Arai (what)? Mi, mi, mi (No,no, no). Lum man pi theu (forget it)." Hanging up the cell phone, he asks "Why was there blood on the seats, and a car mat on the blood?" Rock and Revy start snickering between each other as Suttikul shakes his head and says "I don't think I want to know."

Stopping by the same docks that introduced Takahashi to Roanapur, the Glass King in sight, Rock and Revy exit the cop car. They quickly grab and conceal their pistols as Chief Suttikul says "Don't give me headaches." Chief Suttikul speeds off before Rock and Revy could reply with a wisecrack. Turning toward the Lagoon Company studio, they walk at a brisk pace, a rare, cool breeze tickling their faces. Their hair flows in the air as they continue their trek toward home, the sun shining brightly. "Rock…you okay?" Revy asks.

"Yes, why?" Rock replies with a question of his own. Revy sighs and says "The meth. You're going to need a detox or something." Rock sighs and says "If I ever feel the need for crystal meth, I'll just ask you to beat the shit out of me." Revy shakes her head and sighs, smiling.

Passing a few blocks in silence, Rock says "People here all seem to be chasing some kind of feeling. Some kind of high. I guess that's the same everywhere. Some idea, some hope, some distraction. Becoming heroes, become saviors, becoming monsters, becoming killers. Becoming famous, becoming solitary. Becoming rich…making a lot of money fast and with few questions asked." Revy sighs and says "Becoming rich and fast, running from the past. Roanapur's business plan has been clear from the start." "I fought Roanapur so many times, and every time I lost. Now, Roanapur wins, and I don't care," Rock sighs, his body twitching. "Roanapur always wins," Revy sighs, taking in the breeze.

Rock scratches his nose and says "I need a beer. No…something strong. Something…" Revy darts a slight frown and says "Same here. Tired and hungry. Fuck."

 


	11. No, the Other Burnt

" _Catch, Rokuro," Luca Cavalcanti tosses a Beretta 92 at Rock's tied, blood covered self. He extends his right arm just enough to grab the pistol, which landed on his lap. A dim light bulb flickers in the cold meat locker._

" _What…do you want me to do with this?" Rock inquires, confused, tired, in pain. Luca snickers and says "You believe yourself incapable of committing what I could commit. From what Eda has informed me of, you are also said to be incapable of taking a life. An amusing notion, considering how many lives you have ended and destroyed through the labors of others, but a notion that I respect nevertheless. I do however…have a question, Rokuro. A simple one. Do you believe in karma? Do you believe that, because you consider yourself a good person, that it will protect you? Well?"_

_Rock simply remains silent, glaring a Luca. Not saying a word. Luca snorts and walks toward one end of the meat locker. He grabs a meat cleaver and taps against the blunt side of it with his left elbow. Walking toward Rock, he says "It has been very amusing, Rokuro, but it seems our fun is coming to its ultimate conclusion. A pity, but nevertheless…time to die." He laughs and lunges forward at a terrified Rock, the sharp end of the meat cleaver headed for Rock's neck._

_A pull of the trigger, the meat cleaver brushing against his neck. Nothing. No bullets in the chamber, with the Beretta aimed directly at Luca's forehead. "That would have been a kill shot, Rokuro," Luca comments, amused with himself._

_Rock's heavy, terrified breathing slowly turn to rampant fidgeting and teeth grinding. "You…bastard…" Rock mutters, feeling violated to his core. He aims the Beretta at Luca again, mashing the trigger, hoping that something will happen. Mashing the trigger. Waiting for something._

_Something. "You monster…you bastard. You asshole…fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! YOU MOTHERFUCKER! MOTHERFUCKER! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! FUCK YOU!" Rock screams violently, shaking in his chair. He tries to pull the rope to his mouth, to gnaw through, to strangle Luca to death. "YOU MOTHERFUCKER! MOTHERFUCKER! I'LL FUCKING RIP YOU APART!" Rock yells, fidgeting violently in his chair. He never felt so angry in his life. So many years of rage, built into him, becomes on display like a car show. "I'LL FUCKING TEAR YOU TO PIECES! YOU ARE A FUCKING CORPSE! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL!" Rock's fidgeting causes the chair to tip and fall as Rock lands painfully on his left shoulder. "I'LL…KILL YOU! I'LL…!" His rage suddenly meshes with tears. His entire body shakes, violently. His head throbs. The tears roll down the left side of his head, dripping onto the floor. "I'LL KILL…YOU!" He cries out, his mind a salad of emotions, of anger, self-loathing, fear, shock. "I'LL…!"_

Seated at the front in the mostly empty Yellow Flag, Rock slumps into his folded arms on the counter, alone. He is dressed in his salaryman attire, minus the tie. His dress shirt is not tucked in, but hanging over his belt instead. Bao approaches Rock and says "Here again? Weren't you here yesterday with Revy and that French guy?" Rock waves his right hand meekly and says "Yea, so?" Bao wipes clean a glass pitcher and says "I don't know, you sure? It wasn't that long ago that you nearly drank yourself into a coma." Rock groans and says "Why do you care? It's my money you're getting." Bao sets the glass pitcher under the counter and says "Dead customers aren't good for business. And your psycho friend Revy will find some way to pin this shit on me. You do know that she so far only paid me for two of the times that my bar got fucked up cause of her."

Rock groans once more and says "Whatever, just give me a drink. I'm switching one set of toxins for another, and it sucks." Bao grabs another dirty glass pitcher and proceeds to wipe it down, saying "You know we got a brothel upstairs if you want to get your mind off of shit." Rock plants his chin on the counter and asks "That desperate to get me naked and on camera for those pornos that you film?" Bao rolls his eyes and says "Ah screw it. I forgot that your cock is pixelated, ha." Rock replies by calmly flipping Bao the finger.

A young Thai woman in a grey tank-top and dark blue crop pants approaches Rock by the counter and kneels forward. "What's wrong there, big guy?" she asks, smiling at him. Rock waves her away and lies "I'm married." She leans closer and says "Well that doesn't mean anything when you are sad in a bar, big guy." Rock raises his voice and says "Just leave me alone!" The Thai woman raises her arms in defeat and walks away, approaching a man in a cowboy hat seated at a table.

Suddenly, Rock's cell phone vibrates. He pulls it out of the right pocket of his black trousers and looks at the number. The caller is unknown. Sighing, he answers the phone. "Hello, who's this?"

"Japanese! Long time no talk!" Songxie yells out, seated in his now repaired Chevy Tahoe. He is dressed in a grey hoodie and sky blue jeans, the hoodie still having the price tag attached to it. He has a small scar on the left side of his head, the scar extending into his hair. Confused and slightly nervous, in light of his work with the Roanapur Police Department, Rock answers "Hey Songxie…what's up?" "Not much, just call to say money for windows is with Black Lagoon. $1,600, as asked. I owe apology, Rock. You not as useless stupid as thought," Songxie answers, staring out the front window of his Chevy Tahoe.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Rock replies, nervous. Songxie smirks and says "I know what you do. It okay. Boss need wake up call. No effect me now. Good for long term." Rock's eyes light up as he wonders as to whether distrust Songxie or breathe a sigh of relief. Walking the tight rope, Rock replies "I owe you for the damage to your Chevy Tahoe. How much do I owe?" Songxie thinks to himself and says "Friend did repair for cheap. Got replacement parts at junkyard. Only $80 for repairs, but you no owe me. It okay." Continuing to play with fire, Rock replies "No Songxie, it's alright. I can buy you a bottle of whatever you like, call the debt paid. Drinks are on me, what do you say?"

Songxie slightly frowns and nods to himself, growing a liking for the idea. After a short pause, he says "I drink John Dewar. Scotch." Rock smiles and says "Well, come on over to the Yellow Flag. I'm already here, and I haven't started drinking yet." Songxie scratches the back of his neck and says "Okay. It deal. I be there in hour. First got business to do. Later."

Songxie hangs up the phone and puts it in his back pocket. He then reaches behind the driver seat, retrieving a ski mask. He places the ski mask on top of his head, stretches his neck, and pulls the ski mask over his face. Songxie then pulls the hood over his head and prepares to exit his car.

Rock continues to sit on a stool in the Yellow Flag, his eyes glued to the entrance. He checks under the back of his dress shirt for his M9, eyes never leaving the entrance. Suddenly, Songxie steps in, dressed in a black v-neck that exposes his shoulders, a pair of blue track pants with two white stripes on each side, and blue sneakers.

"Japanese! There you are!" Songxie yells out, extending his left arm into the air. Rock nods up and raises his left arm in the air as well. Songxie approaches the bar's counter and seats himself on the stool to the right of Rock. "How are you doing, Songxie? You took a hard shot from that cop," Rock asks, hiding his nervousness. Songxie waves Rock off and says "It nothing, fuck the cocksucker. Not first scar I had. I do want ask…how you know police chief? Eh?" Rock's heartbeat accelerates as he moves his right arm closer to his right ribs.

Thinking quickly, he replies "Takahashi owed Revy and I the two grand that he held out on. I collected. It was a mutual job, that's it. Me and the Chief, we aren't friends. I don't think a newly appointed police chief would want to associate with a small time smuggler like me." Songxie laughs and says "Haha, no shit! No worry, Rock. You and me? No problem, no issue. I say 'Takahashi, pay police.' Takahashi say no, too stubborn. I scare that police do crackdown, make us pay bigger bribe, or worse. Lun yeung (dick face)! Mhgoi (thanks), your work help. No jail for me, and Songxie fall off horse high."

"I think the expression is falling off the high horse," Bao interjects, cleaning an ashtray. Songxie smiles at Bao and says "Hum lun (suck my dick)." Bao's eyes light up as he says "I heard that." Songxie ignores Bao and turns toward Rock, saying "Yea, I know. English no good. Go laugh." Rock laughs and says "Hey, I don't need Shakespearean English to understand what you mean. Your English is fine."

Songxie smiles and nods. After a while, he asks "So, got something for me?" Rock hides his relief and says "Yea…" Turning to Bao, Rock says "You got any umm…I think it was called Dewar? John Dewar, scotch, what do you got?"

Bao looks behind the bar, surveying the assortment of alcoholic beverages. "I got a couple bottles of John Dewar White Label…and I got an unopened bottle of John Dewar Founder's Reserve, 18 years old," Bao calmly replies, before turning back to Songxie and Rock. The words 'Founder's Reserve' cause Songxie to nearly grin like an idiot. "How much for the bottle of Founder's Reserve?" Rock inquires, which actually causes Songxie to grin like an idiot. Bao stares at Rock, draws an imaginary circle in the air with his right index finger, and says "…the whole bottle?"

"Yes Bao, the whole bottle. How much?" Rock inquires further, folding his arms on the bar's counter. Bao thinks to himself for a second, and then says "$120. American. Now it wasn't easy to get my hands on this, alright?" Rock rolls his eyes and says "Fine, here you go." He fishes out a hundred dollar bill and two ten dollar bills and hands the money over to Bao, who then props the bottle of scotch on the bar's counter.

Songxie smiles at the bottle of John Dewar and pulls the bottle closer, reading the label on the bottle. He looks up at Bao and says "Hey, you! Two tumblers, now!" Bao turns to Songxie, thinks of making a wisecrack, and ultimately shakes his head in exasperation, propping two tumbler glasses on the counter. Songxie removes the cap on the bottle of John Dewar and pours scotch into the two glasses. He pushes one glass towards Rock and says "We finish bottle. No excuses."

Rock grabs the tumbler glass and puts the scotch to his nose. He registers scents of apples and vanilla. Turning to Songxie, he raises the glass of scotch and says in Japanese "Kampai (cheers)." Songxie raises his glass and says in Cantonese "Gom bui (dry the glass)." Rock takes a small gulp of scotch, registering a honey and almond taste. "I usually prefer rum or vodka, but this is pretty good," Rock mutters, only to realize that Songxie is still finishing his glass of scotch in one go. Suppressing a chuckle, Rock downs the remainder of the scotch in one more go.

Songxie laughs and jabs at Rock's right shoulder, saying "C'mon Japanese. Gom bui mean dry cup!" Rock laughs and says "I realize now." Songxie pours himself another glass of scotch. Grabbing Rock's glass, he pours him a second glass of scotch as well. "Thanks," Rock says, taking a sip of the scotch. Songxie takes a sip of his own and asks "So, how you with withdrawal?" Rock's eyes bulge out in annoyance as he says "It freaking sucks, but the last two days were the worst. I ended up spending my Christmas depressed and anxious from the lack of shabu in my veins. It's getting a bit better now. Hopefully I'll be 'detoxed' by next week."

Songxie takes another sip of scotch and asks "Japanese have Christmas?" Rock smirks and says "Not like in most of the world. It's a strictly commercial holiday. It's actually a bit like Valentine's Day." Songxie nods and says "Learn new thing every day." A thought crosses Rock's head as he asks "How did you get my number?" Songxie quickly replies "I ask Reynolds, he gave." "I thought so," Rock mutters out, taking a gulp of scotch.

Swallowing the scotch, Rock continues "This drink is what's keeping me from turning into a methadone freak. Ugh! Damnit to shit!" He puts the scotch down and retrieves a pack of Natural American Spirit cigarettes. Removing a cigarette from the pack, he places it in his mouth and lights it with a lighter, taking a drag. "Hey Bao, an ashtray please," Rock calls out. Bao reaches under the counter and props the ashtray on the counter. "Thanks," Rock says, placing the cigarette on the ashtray. Songxie retrieves a crimson red pack of Hongtashan cigarettes, fishing a cigarette out of the pack. He lights the cigarette with his own lighter and takes a drag. Bao eyes the pack and asks "Are those Hongtashans?"

"Yea. Want?" Songxie answers. Bao moves his jaw back and forth, thinking to himself. "Alright…I usually smoke Craven As, but I've been meaning to give these a try," Bao replies, as Songxie hands him a cigarette from his pack. Rock takes another sip of scotch as Bao lights the Hongtashan cigarette with a lighter. Taking a drag, he exhales and says "These are too fucking harsh for me. I'm sticking to the Cravens. How you mix these Chinese cigs with scotch, I have no fucking idea." Songxie laughs and takes another drag, exhaling and quickly taking a gulp of scotch for the sake of emphasis.

The three proceed to smoke as Bao brings out a tumbler of his own. Leaving the cigarette on the ashtray, he turns around and pulls out, from a cabinet, an unmarked bottle filled with orange-colored liquid. He pours the liquid into the tumbler glass and seals the now almost empty bottle, returning the bottle to the cabinet. "That orange juice?" Songxie inquires, taking a drag of his Hongtashan. Bao smiles and says "This is what I drink. Tapuy, Filipino rice wine. I know a woman who makes this every week, living in the outskirts outside of Roanapur. Got to finish this bottle before it goes sour." Bao takes a large gulp of tapuy and reaches for his cigarette.

The phone rings inside the Black Lagoon Company studio. Revy, dressed in her usual black tank top and shorts, picks up the phone. "Yeah?" She blurts out.

"Ey Revy, it's me Bao. Your friend Rock is here at the bar," Bao replies, as several feet away, Rock and Songxie engage in banter. "So?" Revy replies. "Well he is here with that new guy, Songxie I think his name is," Bao adds. Revy's left eye twitches as she yells out "That fucker started something?" Bao quickly answers "No, no. The two are acting like college grads at a reunion." Revy raises her left eyebrow as she mutters "What the hell?" Bao laughs and says "Yeah. Just your friend here is way too plastered to walk home. Hell, starving hobos would take a crack at him. Come over before he walks into oncoming traffic."

Rock waves his hands in the air and yells "So this crazy gothic looking woman is waving this chainsaw around while the Indian girl and I are on the roof, and a freaking fire was growing right below, and then out of nowhere, an explosion rips a hole in the roof! The gothic woman spoke using this machine that she puts in her neck, and the blast knocked the thing away. At first I'm thinking 'This is it. I either have to jump a few flights or become cured meat'. Then she realizes that her thing is gone, and suddenly the crazy lady starts crying!" Songxie and Rock both burst into laughter, taking sips of scotch and exchanging past stories.

Songxie pats Rock on the shoulder and says "That fucking crazy! One time, I help smuggle Cambodian lady into Sri Lanka. She say 'Look for beard man with shotgun and ammo belt.' I hear that, think crazy mercenary. We come to Jaffna, and she get off boat. Beard man with shotgun became bald man with Hare Krishna!" Songxie and Rock both snicker and both take another sip of scotch. Songxie nods and says "You good man, Rock. You and Lagoon Company do good work. I get work and think you good for it, I call! And if need help, and if no conflict with interests, you give me call." Rock smiles and says "Thanks Songxie."

Revy steps into the Yellow Flag, locating Rock in a matter of seconds. She approaches him, saying "Hey Rock. Hope you haven't forgotten how to speak English yet." Songxie turns around, drunk and smiling, saying "ABC! Long time no see! You miss party, we almost finish bottle." Revy rolls her eyes and turns to Rock, who is happily drunk. As Rock takes a sip of scotch, Revy asks "You going or do I got to babysit your little ass for a bit more?" Rock finishes the remainder of the scotch with one swift motion and wipes his mouth, saying "Yea Revy, I'm good and shi…shit! You driving?"

Revy laughs and says "Rock, Mel Gibson wouldn't let your drunken ass drive his car. C'mon Rock, you said you were going to watch the wildcard round with me. We'll it's today, well tomorrow if you want to be a smartass. 3 A.M. alright. It's like around 6 P.M. now." Rock nods and says "Sure Revy, sure. See ya Songxie, see ya Bao. Enjoy the weekend." Songxie and Bao both wave Rock and Revy off in silence, as the two men engage in banter of their own.

Exiting the Yellow Flag, Revy carries Rock on her shoulders and says "Networking with Mr. Illiterate?" Rock chuckles and says "Sort of." The Town Car, fully repaired, is parked right in front of the bar. Pushing Rock into the front side passenger seat, Revy steps into the driver seat and turns on the engine. Heaving a sigh, she steps on the gas pedal, leaving the Yellow Flag in the dust. The Thai sun continues its descent, coloring the sky a vibrant shade of orange. A seagull flies over the Town Car, perching itself on a bench next to a trash can.

"So Dutch, what do you think is up with Rock?" Benny asks, lying on a couch in the Black Lagoon studio, reading a local newspaper that's in English. He is dressed in his usual Hawaiian shirt and beige pants attire. Dutch, dressed in a sleeveless white shirt and grey sweat pants, curls a 50 pound dumbbell with his right arm, grunting with each slow repetition. "He saved us 10 months worth of bribes, so I don't see the problem," Dutch replies. Benny grimaces and says "I don't know boss. It's strange…the Rock I remember back when we first got him to the Yellow Flag is not the Rock that I know now."

"That's this city for you, it has a way of doing that," Dutch replies, switching to his left arm. "True, but look at me. Sure, I changed a bit from how I was back in Tampa, but I am not doing what Rock is doing." Dutch calmly replies "You don't stick your head out like Rock does. That's your saving grace." "So what are you saying, boss?" Benny asks, putting the newspaper away. "What I'm saying…is that Rock got burnt. It happens," Dutch calmly replies.

Confused, Benny says "Rock doesn't smoke weed, and even if he did, it would have nothing to do with this." Dutch shakes his head and says "No Benny, the other burnt. The 'I came into this situation with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of hopes and ideals and everything went to shit.' That kind of burnt. The kind that burns out your ability to care. Again, it happens." Benny grimaces again and says "I think I see what you mean."

Curling the dumbbell, Dutch says "You've been burnt too, but not as badly. You are a bit more risk averse then Rock and Revy, that's for sure. Revy…from whatever she came from, she must have been scorched like Moscow during the Napoleon Wars." Benny hums and says "You seem sure about this, Dutch." Dutch smirks uneasily and says "Yea, I've had experience. Seeing Rock change like he did was just another one of those experiences. And to be fair, with Rock…he somewhat reminds me of myself." Benny mutters "Hmm," and grabs the remote. Turning the television on, he watches a local Bangkok based news report.

" _Earlier today in Roanapur, witnesses have reported that a man in a grey hooded sweater and jeans, concealing his face with a ski mask, attacked a Roanapur Police Department squad car in Balkana Square. The man was reported to have smashed the squad car using a sledgehammer. Only one occupant was in the car at the time, Officer Nantakarn. During the attack, Officer Nantakarn was reported to have sustained several injuries to the shoulder and head regions. The assailant was reported to have cursed in Cantonese and made specific comments regarding Nantakarn's shoes. Officer Nantakarn was admitted into a nearby hospital, where he was declared by doctors to be clinically brain dead. He is survived by a wife and a teenage daughter. The Roanapur Police Department is currently investigating the incident but have no leads at the moment. This bookends a string of bizarre and violent incidents. Several days ago, an unnamed hobo that was attempting a robbery was shot to death, with no witnesses coming forward. On the 24th, Thai businessman_   _Tinsulaananda Phatipatanawong stabbed himself in the crotch, eye, and heart, after consuming excessive amounts of methamphetamine. We will keep you posted on further developments."_

"Dutch, I need a smoke," Benny blurts out. "Then go smoke," Dutch replies, matter-of-factly. "My pack ran empty," Benny answers. Dutch sighs and says "On the kitchen counter, Natural American Spirit. Go ahead." Benny gets off from the sofa and says "Thanks."

"Shto takoye (What is it)? Cechas (now)? Chort, ya cechas zaniyt (Damn, I'm now busy). Nu, shto delayt (well, what can you do)? Shto (what)? Yesli eto Sitsilia, toh oni dolboni idioti (If this is Sicily, then they are freaking idiots). Oni uzhe v dverah (They are already at the door)? Chort, prineciti eih suda (Damn, bring them in here)," Balalaika concludes, talking on a telephone in her office in the Bougainville Trade Company. A few minutes later, the door to her office swings open, as two men step inside, followed by a third man that is groaning with every step.

The man in pain is revealed to be Anisimov, the Russian mobster that was shot by Fabrizio Ammassari. Groaning with each step, he positions himself by a wall in the office, dressed in a red button down shirt and a pair of grey slacks. "Ti eih obiyskal (Did you frisk them)?" Balalaika asks Anisimov. Anisimov nods and says "Da, paru pistoletov, Beretta (Yes, pair of pistols, Beretta)."

Balalaika nods and then turns to her guests. Both of them have seated themselves onto a pair of chairs in front of her desk, without asking for permission. The man on the left is dressed in a light green golf jacket, light brown track pants, and black tennis shoes. He is wearing a stainless steel watch on his left wrist, and a gold ring on his right hand. He has black, slightly balding hair, his hair line already retreating an inch behind. His face is clean shaven, slightly wrinkled, and his eyebrows are thin. He appears to be in his 50s.

The man on the right is dressed is a ragged, yellow t-shirt that is written in black lettering 'Longshoreman of the Month, April. Fraser River Port Authority.' He is wearing old, blue jeans and dirty white sneakers that have been stained in mud. The man has wavy, black hair, the hair sticking up as if he did not comb it in the morning. He has a very rough beard, the moustache and chin regions darker than the rest of the beard.

Balalaika rises from her seat and says with a slight hint of sarcasm "Well, for what do I owe the pleasure?" The man in the golf jacket leans slightly forward, cupping his hands. After a short pause, he says "I believe that my organization…and your organization…that we may have gotten off to a rocky start. Now, let me introduce myself. I am Freddy Viapiano. This is my business partner, Martin Zappala. We are here for…erm…'reconciliation'. We are here for that, and for a few possible…and very profitable, business opportunities that could be very beneficial for both parties. You catch what I am saying, right?"

Balalaika slowly nods at Viapiano, who spoke with a very slight Italian accent, and then at Zappala. She suppresses a chuckle, as in her eyes, it appears as if a PGA golfer just arrived for a job interview with a hobo. After a short pause, she says "You are brave to seek this meeting in person…to appear in this capacity. What reason do I have to let you live, when you presented yourself to me like a gift?"

Viapiano smirks and says "Listen lady, your war with the Cuccia family was not exactly authorized by your superiors in Moscow, or St. Petersburg, or fucking wherever. You know it, and we don't need to 'know it' know it, because we've been picking up the context clues. There has been a lot of movement between the Italian and Russian underworld, and we've been hearing things. Trust us, you don't want to be the one to cast the next die. Even more so, you don't want to push your rivals into forming alliances against you. That just isn't healthy."

Balalaika pulls out a ballistic knife and places the knife on her desk. Intending to draw a reaction out of her guests, she smirks when they offer nothing but calm, blank silence. She puts the knife away and speaks out "So, why has Sicily made yet another attempt in settling into Roanapur?"

Zappala speaks out, saying "Sicily? If Sicily is making another play at this fucking city, then it's news to me." Zappala speaks in a slightly high pitched and an extremely raspy voice, having what sounds like a western American accent. Balalaika stares in confusion at Zappala and Viapiano and asks "Are you with the Sicilians?"

Zappala suppresses a chuckle and shakes his head, saying "No, we're from Vancouver. We're the 'Ndrangheta."

AN: Well that concludes the second story arc, Glass Rocks. If you haven't, I recommend that you read 'The Calabrian Gambit'. While these story arcs can be read alone, I recommend that they are read in order, starting with 'The Calabrian Gambit' and then 'Glass Rocks'. Regardless, I had a lot of fun writing this story. Enjoy.

 


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